Breaking Down Job Market Barriers to Help 30M Job Seekers Get Hired
Aspiration for Society
Help 30 million people facing barriers in the labor market
around the world get hired*2
The only requirement to be hired for a job should be possessing the
skills and abilities needed to perform it. However, barriers in
hiring can make it challenging for many job seekers to find, get,
and keep a job.
At Recruit Group, we are dedicated to breaking down these barriers
through our platform innovation, partnerships, and our own
organizational initiatives. By increasing access to quality
opportunities, we strive to make a positive, fair, and sustainable
social impact by connecting people to better work to create better
lives.
To make progress toward this aspiration, since FY2021, we have
focused on working to reduce five barriers: education, criminal
records*3, disability, prior military service
experience*4, lack of access to essential technology and
transportation necessary when it comes to securing a
job*5. From FY2023, we are also working to support the
employment of refugee job seekers*6.
Initiatives to Reduce Education Barriers in Labor Market
HR Tech SBU: Indeed
In the United States, more than 70 million workersーaccounting for
half of the workforceーhave acquired skills through routes other
than obtaining a bachelor's degree. These workers are referred to as
"STARs" (Skilled Through Alternative Routes)*7. Despite
their capabilities, many of them are excluded from hiring processes
due to the lack of a bachelor's degree. Research has shown that
while STARs typically earn less over their lifetimes compared to
those with degrees*8, more than 30 million of them have
the skills to transition into higher-paying roles—if given the
opportunity*9. Indeed, which operates hiring platforms in
over 60 countries worldwide, is prioritizing efforts to break down
educational barriers through the promotion of "skills-first
hiring*10."
Unlike traditional hiring practices that screen out candidates based
on education credentials, skills-first hiring instead evaluates a
job seeker’s skills—gained through work experience, vocational
training, and other experiences. For employers, this provides access
to a broader talent pool of qualified candidates. For job seekers,
it opens up opportunities to more roles that allow them to fully
utilize their skills and experiences.
Indeed promotes skills-first hiring through the following three
approaches:
Better Profiles (Resumes)
Empowering job seekers facing barriers to register their skills
and training history and clearly showcasing their abilities.
This will make it easier to identify roles that match their
strengths and aspirations.
Better Job Descriptions (Job Listings)
Supporting employers in clearly defining and articulating the
essential skills required for each role. Additionally, assisting
employers in confidently and accurately evaluating the skills
presented in job seekers' applications. We aim to help employers
source, screen and hire based on skills.
Skills-Based Matching
Facilitating more efficient connections between job seekers and
employers by carefully analyzing and understanding job seeker
skills (including soft skills) in relation to job requirements.
For example, the "Matched Candidates" feature in "Smart Sourcing"
utilizes AI to instantly match and connect employers with job
seekers on Indeed, using relevant skills. Employers can review “AI
Candidate Highlights,” including skill summaries, and can then
invite them to apply for job openings - without waiting for the job
seeker to find the posting in their search page. Job seekers can
also efficiently access job listings that match their skills.
Skills-first hiring is crucial not only for job seekers facing
educational barriers, but also for improving overall matching for
all job seekers. The global Indeed taxonomy already includes over
40,000*11 market-specific skills. On Indeed, in the
United States, 71%*12 of job seekers are matched with
jobs based on their skills, and 65%*12 of candidate
proposals to hiring companies are skill-based matches. Indeed plans
to further deepen its understanding of skills, evolve products for
both job seekers and employers based on these skills, and optimize
matching to further promote skills-first hiring.
Initiatives for Other Barriers
Education
According to one survey, approximately 60% of employers have
rejected a candidate because they did not have a post-secondary
education*13.
Veterans who are looking for a new opportunity or transitioning from
service to civilian life; they may have difficulty matching their
skills and experience to the job market.
Amid rising geopolitical tensions, individuals have been forced to
leave their homelands, leading to a sharp increase in people needing
jobs as they seek to rebuild their lives in their new locations.
While our challenge is just beginning, we are proud to have been
able to help 11.8 million job seekers facing barriers get hired*15
through the end of FY2024. We will continue to respond to the
growing needs of employers for inclusive and skills-first hiring by
further improving our platforms.
Other Initiatives at Group Companies
Staffing SBU: Initiatives through RGF Connect
Staffing SBU has launched a global social program called “RGF Connect,” aimed at supporting people who are experiencing barriers in the
labor market to provide equal opportunities, fair chances and
empowerment for all. In the local RGF Connect initiatives, Staffing
SBU provides people with education, training and employment
opportunities to build meaningful connections with society and break
down barriers.
Students with disabilities often face significant barriers when
transitioning from school to the workforce. In Japan, as part of the
RGF Connect initiative, Recruit Staffing Crafts in Japan hosts
"Online Work Experience Programs" in partnership with special needs
schools across the country. These programs help students with
disabilities explore their potential and gain essential skills for
remote work. There is a growing interest in remote work by people
with disabilities because it allows them to work flexibly and manage
their health more easily. In FY2024, 233 students (aged from 13 to
18) from special needs schools participated in the program.
Recruit Staffing Crafts will continue offering remote work
opportunities and fostering connections between schools and
companies to help young students with disabilities realize their
potential and achieve their career goals.
Recruit of Matching & Solutions SBU, which operates mainly in Japan,
is utilizing the expertise and knowledge accumulated over 60 years
of business experiences in the human resources field to develop the
employment support and career education program "WORK
FIT"*16. This program is implemented in prisons, juvenile
detention centers, and probation offices. Furthermore, in July 2024,
we signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with the Ministry of
Justice in Japan, aiming to expand the program development and
provide training.
On this webpage, the number of years stated are reflective of the
number of Recruit Holdings fiscal years, which begin on April 1,
each year and end March 31, of the following year. All figures
displayed here are approximate.
The initiative as of today includes providing assistance through
the company's online job platform, and through partnerships with
NPOs and other organizations with whom the company collaborates.
The company may also aim to reduce other various barriers,
including newly emerging issues in the labor market by FY2030.
In the U.S., approximately 79 million people out of 330 million US
population have a criminal record of some sort (source: Prison
Policy Initiative, 2024), and the jobless rate of job seekers with
a criminal record is approximately five times higher than the U.S.
average (source: Prison Policy Initiative, 2022).
A U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation study from 2016 found that
53% of veterans are unemployed for four months or longer after
leaving the military. We recognize that veterans who are looking
for a new opportunity or transitioning from military service to
civilian life may have difficulty matching their skills and
experience to the job market.
This indicates barriers that hinder job hunting, such as being
unable to connect to the Internet, a resultant lack of access to a
job platform, and/or lack of transportation to interviews and
work.
Refugee definition from the UNHCR: individuals who fled their own
country to escape conflict, violence, or persecution and have
sought safety in another country.
In the U.S., it refers to workers with a high school diploma or
higher but without a 4-year college degree (STARs).
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the
Workforce report, "The College Payoff: More Education Doesn't
Always Mean More Earnings" (2021)
Source: Opportunity@Work & Accenture (2020)
Inclusive hiring indicates a company’s efforts to realize improved
fairness in recruitment in order to achieve a workplace that
reflects society, as well as ensuring all people have access to
economic opportunities. Skills-first hiring is a method of
selecting job candidates based on their skillset at an early stage
of the hiring process. Unlike the traditional selection method,
which first "screens out" candidates based on their academic
background, skills-first hiring "screens in" candidates first by
evaluating their skills. The aim is to allow employers to hire
people with the right skills and abilities to perform their jobs,
all in a shorter period of time.
As of February 2024.
Based on the data from July to September 2023.
Source: Accenture, Grads of Life, Harvard Business School (2017),
“Dismissed by Degrees: How degree inflation is undermining U.S.
competitiveness and hurting America’s middle class.”
Source: Wendy Sawyer, Peter Wagner (2020), “Mass Incarceration:
The Whole Pie 2020”
Represents the number of hires made on Indeed reported through our
Hired Signal measurement, from May 1, 2021 - March 31, 2025,
globally for job seekers who faced at least one of the following
barriers: education, criminal record, military experience,
disability or lack of essentials such as a computer or internet
access. Job seekers with refugee backgrounds were included in the
count from FY2023.
"WORK FIT" is a program developed in the wake of the 2008
financial crisis to support young people who wanted to find jobs
but were unable to do so. Initially aimed at providing a positive
start to job searching for young people struggling to take action
or see results, the program is now also utilized by local Youth
Support Stations and various employment support organizations.
