Labor shortages are a hot topic across various sectors. In Hokkaido’s Tokachi region, for instance, the aging population has exacerbated labor shortages, making the securing of temporary workers an urgent priority. A dedicated matching app that allows farmers to hire part-time workers on a daily basis is gaining traction in the area. The target demographic for these jobs includes students, full-time homemakers, and salaried employees looking for side jobs. The region sees a succession of harvests: onions in September, followed by local specialties like potatoes, *nagaimo* (Japanese mountain yam), and long onions from September through November. The jobs advertised by farmers—such as potato harvesting or packing onions into boxes—consist of simple tasks that do not require operating heavy machinery. In a region that labor shortages and an aging workforce have become the norm, these workers provide vital assistance during the busy harvest season. An environment is emerging that there is demand for personnel who can step in when needed, even if they lack advanced skills.
Recently, the term “minimal experience” (*bi-keiken*) has become a common sight on job boards. While there is no strict definition for this term, it generally appears in listings requiring six months to over a year of practical experience. The number of full-time job listings citing “minimal experience” has doubled—rising from a baseline of 100 in 2022 to 200 in 2025. The IT industry is a major source of these “minimal experience welcome” listings. Companies are frequently seeking individuals with specific experience relevant to IT operations, such as development using particular programming languages or proficiency in photo editing software. They are actively recruiting candidates with even basic system development experience, viewing them as assets who can contribute immediately. As Digital Transformation (DX) accelerates and the demand for digital talent skyrockets, the reality is that the supply of such workers is failing to keep pace. While competition for experienced professionals is fierce and securing them is difficult, training inexperienced hires requires significant time and cost. Consequently, there is a pragmatic preference for candidates with “minimal experience”; they adapt relatively quickly to the workplace, and the burden of training costs is lower.
The rising number of job listings seeking candidates with minimal experience (including those with some IT background) reflects a growing tendency among employers to prioritize “immediate contributors.” Because the pool of such listings is small—and many are in the IT sector, that hourly rates are generally higher—the average hourly wage for these positions tends to be elevated. As AI adoption spreads, there is a growing movement to re-evaluate the division of labor between humans and machines. Administrative work, for instance, is undergoing changes; tasks such as data cleansing—often consolidated within administrative roles—are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. This work is essential to prevent errors and operational issues during data analysis and system management. Advanced data cleansing is increasingly becoming a new responsibility for IT engineers. The increase in job listings for those with minimal experience also signals a trend toward flexibly acquiring talent that possesses the necessary skills. It suggests that even without direct experience, candidates with some relevant skills can be further developed through in-house training.
