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Sustainability

Breaking Down Job Market Barriers to Help 30M Job Seekers Get Hired

Aspiration for Society

Help 30 million job seekers get hired by FY2030.

Help 30 million people facing barriers in the labor market around the world get hired*2

Help 30 million job seekers get hired by FY2030.

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.

A screen of  "Matched Candidates" feature within the Smart Sourcing product.

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.

Learn more about our initiatives

Criminal Records

Job seekers with criminal records are over 50% less likely to get a call back or offer*14.

Learn more about our initiatives

Accessibility

Job seekers with disabilities face additional barriers to finding a job and may need additional accommodations on the job.

Learn more about our initiatives

Military-Experienced

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.

Learn more about our initiatives

Job seekers without Work Essentials

Job seekers without critical support like digital access and transportation may struggle to find work and get employed.

Learn more about our initiatives

Refugee Backgrounds

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.

Learn more about our initiatives

Our Journey Toward 2030

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.

An infographic showing the cumulative support for 11.8 million job seekers facing barriers by the end of FY2024 in pursuit of the aspiration of assisting 30 million job seekers facing barriers by FY2030.

Other Initiatives at Group Companies

Staffing SBU: Initiatives through RGF Connect

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.

Learn more

Matching & Solutions SBU: Initiatives at Recruit

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.

Learn more (Japanese only)

Reducing the Time to Get Hired by Half

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Community Support

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  • 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.