Kono Seisakusho’s Contribution to the Community and Career Education – Through supplementary materials for junior high school students

Hello! I’m Kunii from the Corporate Communications Department.

I joined the company in 2019, and I find myself soon to be in my fourth year with the company. I still thought of myself as a rookie, but the other day I looked around at the office and saw that all the people there had less experience than I did. I realized that I could no longer be in the mindset of a young person…

I am now working as a public relations person, and I work hard every day to express the attraction of the company. But a long time ago, when I was in junior high school, I did not have a clear dream for the future, and my imagination was filled with various visions of what my future might look like, such as becoming a nursery teacher, a pharmacist, or even marrying into a wealthy family.

While I was still unsure about my future career path, the work-study program, which allowed me to actually visit a workplace for a few days, was a very valuable opportunity for me to learn about the joys and difficulties of working. Now that I’m an adult, it’s an important part of my job to tell students who are also thinking about their future about our work from the perspective of a working adult.

In Chiba Prefecture, where Kono Seisakusho’s main factory is located, a supplemental educational material called “Discover Adventure Chiba Prefecture” is currently being used as part of career education for elementary and junior high school students. Dozens of local companies are listed in the book, and the students learn what kind of jobs exist in the world and how each company approaches its work, which is said to help shape their view of careers.

Our company has also been featured in “Discover Adventure Chiba Prefecture” since 2021. The article introduces the Development and Manufacturing Technology Department, which continues to create one-of-a-kind products based on free ideas, and how the world’s smallest needle is used in the field of surgery.

You can see the actual pages here

Because of the spread of COVID-19,it is not possible to visit workplaces like before. However, the companies in the teaching materials actually visited some junior high schools and held exchange classes to show the fascinating aspects of their work.

Last year, we participated in an exchange class at a school and held a workshop named “Let’s think of a product that solves the current problem!” to learn the process of product development. I was a little worried that it might be too difficult for junior high school students, but when the workshop started, we found that the students not only actively engaged in group discussions, but even came up with many ideas that we had never thought of before, and before we knew it, an hour had passed quickly.

This year we also plan to participate in exchange programs at five schools and invite employees who are personally involved in development and manufacturing to join the activities so that children can experience manufacturing thinking through our activities.

We will be participating, and continue to update this blog from time to time on how the day went, so please look forward to it!

List of junior high schools we visited in 2022