Wednesday, August 13, 2025
- 1 Raising caregivers locally and opening up the future: Hokuryu Town, Kuriyama Town, and Hokkaido Nursing and Welfare School take on a new challenge to secure caregivers
- 1.1 Overview of the Agreement Signing Ceremony
- 1.2 Partnership agreement to secure nursing care personnel "developed in the community and in Kuriyama"
- 1.3 Specific examples of collaborative projects and the future vision we aim for
- 1.4 Introduction to Hokkaido Nursing Care Welfare School
- 1.5 The mayor speaks of his determination and vision for the future
- 1.6 Specific prospects for collaboration as seen through the Q&A session
- 1.7 Commemorative photo at Himawari no Sato
- 2 More Photos
- 3 Related Articles
Raising caregivers locally and opening up the future: Hokuryu Town, Kuriyama Town, and Hokkaido Nursing and Welfare School take on a new challenge to secure caregivers
On Wednesday, August 6, 2025, a signing ceremony for the "Comprehensive Partnership Agreement on Securing Care Workers," led by Hokuryu Town, Kuriyama Town, and the town's Hokkaido Nursing and Welfare School, was held in the reception room of the Health Center in Hokuryu Town Hall. The purpose of this agreement is to foster, secure, and promote the retention of care workers and to promote welfare education.
Overview of the Agreement Signing Ceremony
The event was moderated by Yayoi Kawamoto, Chief of the City Future Strategy Division.
Introducing the participants
- Kuriyama Town
- Mayor Manabu Sasaki
- Mr. Masakazu Yoshida, Superintendent of the Board of Education
- Mr. Takahiro Akushichi, Principal of Kuriyama Town Hokkaido Nursing Welfare School
- Mr. Toshiyuki Furuta, Vice Principal and Secretary General of Kuriyama Town Hokkaido Nursing Welfare School
- Mr. Takashi Ikoma, General Affairs Group, General Affairs Division, Kuriyama Town Hall
- Hokuryu Town
- Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki
- Deputy Mayor Masaaki Okuda
- Superintendent of Education Yoshiki Tanaka
Partnership agreement to secure nursing care personnel "developed in the community and in Kuriyama"
Toshiyuki Furuta, vice principal of Kuriyama Town Hokkaido Nursing and Welfare School, gave an outline of the agreement.
The purpose of this agreement is to have the "local community," which is suffering from a shortage of nursing care personnel, and the "school," which is facing the challenge of securing students, work together to solve the problem, based on the theme that "care workers who will support the local community will be developed together in the local community (Hokuryu Town) and Kuriyama."
The four core principles of the agreement
- Securing nursing care personnel through student recruitment
- Support for social and professional independence for young people who have given up on continuing their education for financial reasons
- Identifying and developing caregivers who will lead the future of the region
- Creating an environment where care workers can stay and work for a long time
Roles of each local government
- The role of Kuriyama Town (raising children in Kuriyama)
- A local government recommendation admission system will be established, which will provide a 100,000 yen reduction in the entrance fee and a 100,000 yen reduction in the first year's tuition.
- We provide education that builds a foundation for professional careers through national exam preparation and a unique curriculum.
- We support welfare education and staff training conducted by local governments and businesses.
- The role of the local government with which the agreement was signed (developing the project locally)
- Cooperation in recruiting students to the school.
- To support students facing financial difficulties, a study support system has been established to provide assistance with tuition and living expenses.
- We will promote experiential education in welfare and nursing care at elementary, junior high and high schools, as well as awareness-raising activities for local residents.
- We will provide training for local care workers to develop human resources and improve their qualifications.
Specific examples of collaborative projects and the future vision we aim for
Examples of collaborative projects
- Local government introduction project
On July 22nd and 23rd, 13 partner municipalities participated and introduced students to the town's attractions and career support measures. This was an opportunity for students to learn about the diverse regions of Hokkaido and broaden their employment options. - Supporting events to promote the appeal of nursing care work
Last August, students and faculty helped out at an event in Biratori Town, providing a caregiving experience booth for townspeople and high school students. Utilizing Hokkaido's "Subsidy for Increasing the Appeal of Caregiving Jobs" (100% Subsidy), this was possible without any financial burden on the local government.
Collaboration system and future vision: "Cycle of securing nursing care personnel"
This agreement not only fosters vertical collaboration between Kuriyama Town and each local government, but also creates horizontal connections between the two municipalities. Once a year, an online information exchange meeting will be held to learn from each other's policies.
The goal is to discover and develop talent through local career understanding, and to create a virtuous cycle in which, after learning specialized knowledge at the school, they find employment and settle in the local area. Ultimately, the ideal situation is for graduates who are active in the local area to become public relations models themselves, leading to the development of the next generation of talent.
Introduction to Hokkaido Nursing Care Welfare School
This municipal nursing care and welfare school opened in 1988 and has a capacity of 80 students. With a staff of five teachers and five administrative staff, it has produced 2,308 graduates to date.
Three pillars of education and achievements
- Pillars of Education:We offer programs such as "Community Activity Research," where students identify issues in local welfare for themselves, and "Career Development Support Courses," where students learn about various career paths. Our school curriculum is aligned with the "Three Types of Caregiver Model" set forth by the government, and we are confident in our educational policy.
- Agreements concluded:The program began at the end of fiscal year 2021, and has concluded agreements with 20 municipalities to date. This is the first such agreement to be concluded in the Kita Sorachi region.
- Tuition discounts:If you are recommended by the local government, you can study for two years for 1.55 million yen, which is more than 500,000 yen cheaper than other schools in Hokkaido.
- High national exam pass rate:In the eight years since the national examination for care workers became mandatory, all graduates have passed the exam four times.
Human resource development through integrated technical college education
Commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, in collaboration with the local Kuriyama High School, we have developed a "Technical College Integrated Education Program" that allows students to study welfare consistently over five years from high school to vocational school. In the future, we aim to package this curriculum and offer it to other local governments and high schools.
signing of an agreement
President Iwano and Mayor Sasaki signed the agreement and shook hands firmly.
Commemorative photo shoot
The mayor speaks of his determination and vision for the future
Mayor Manabu Sasaki of Kuriyama Town: "The serious reality of a shortage of nursing care workers"
"Securing care workers is now a top priority for all local governments. The number of vocational schools training care workers has drastically decreased nationwide, from around 430 schools a decade ago to around 300 today. In particular, many of these schools are privately run, and the reality is that they will be forced to close if they cannot attract students. Even in Hokkaido, the number of training schools has decreased from 21 to 14, and the environment for training excellent care workers is being lost.
In 2025, the baby boomer generation will reach late senior years, and the demand for nursing care will increase further. There is already a shortage of 220,000 nursing care workers nationwide, and more than 20,000 in Hokkaido, with the job-to-applicant ratio reaching nearly four times. According to national estimates, by 2040, when the elderly population will reach its peak, there will be a shortage of 600,000 nursing care workers nationwide, and more than 30,000 in Hokkaido, and Japanese society could face a crisis in which people will be unable to enter nursing care facilities even if they want to.
"In these difficult times, we sincerely hope that this agreement will help to resolve these issues. We will work in cooperation with Hokuryu Town and other local governments with which we have agreements to develop the nursing care personnel needed in each region."
Hokuryu Town Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki: "For the future of our town, we will pave the way for our children"
<Hokuryu Town Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki: "For the future of our town, we will pave the way for our children">
Next, Mayor Sasaki of Hokuryu Town spoke about the town's commitment to human resource development and specific initiatives.
"There are many wonderful children in Hokuryu Town who, from elementary school age, have expressed their desire to look after their grandparents and pursue a career in caregiving. We want to pave the way for us to fully support these aspiring children so that they do not have to give up on their dreams for financial reasons or other reasons.
As a concrete initiative, we recently revised the town's scholarship ordinance. Previously, scholarships were only guaranteed if students continued to live in the town until their third year of high school, but we have now removed this requirement. This means that children who have left the town will now be eligible for support, opening the door to a wider range of students.
"When children demonstrate their abilities, it will ultimately help support the elderly in the town. We are determined to create a solid path for the future of our children and the future of our town. Kuriyama Town Nursing and Welfare School is a public vocational school supported by 24 cities and towns. As a member of that group, we will do our best to support the school."
Specific prospects for collaboration as seen through the Q&A session
During the question and answer session following the signing, more specific questions were asked about the collaboration agreement.
- Q1. What are the track record of the recommendation system and the local employment rate?
(From a school official) In the three years since the recommendation system was launched, four students from partner municipalities have enrolled. The first class of students graduated this year, and of the 17 students who graduated, 10 found employment in the local area, one of whom used the recommendation system.
- Q2. How many municipalities do you plan to sign agreements with in the future?
(From a school official) Although there are limitations in terms of the system, we would love to collaborate with any local government that wishes to support the local community together. Most recently, an agreement with Fukagawa City was finalized on the 19th of next week. Our school has historically accepted students from all over Hokkaido, and this policy will remain unchanged in the future.
- Q3. What specific support does Hokuryu Town plan to provide in the future?
(From Mayor Sasaki of Hokuryu Town) If there are any negative aspects to our support, we simply continue to improve them. First of all, we will focus on finding talented people. We always show up at events where elderly people gather, such as the town's Respect for the Aged Day celebration, and have many direct conversations with them, asking, "Do you have any grandchildren who are interested in this career?" We believe that steadily promoting the school to the local community as "a great school" is the first step to securing talented people to support the community. We will continue to seize every opportunity and take action.
This agreement is more than just a signing ceremony; it demonstrates the strong will of local governments to work together and take concrete action to address the challenges facing the region. There are high hopes that this initiative will be a ray of hope for both the young people who will be responsible for the future of Hokuryu Town and the local community they support.
Commemorative photo at Himawari no Sato
We then moved to a sunflower village in full bloom and took commemorative photos.
With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, we look forward to a bright future in which the comprehensive partnership between Kuriyama Town and Hokuryu Town will expand our precious connections with people from a comprehensive perspective, including caregivers.
