In recent years, the recruitment of foreign engineers has been attracting attention for a variety of reasons. However, there are also disadvantages to hiring foreign engineers, so it is important to know the advantages and disadvantages in detail in order to prevent any gaps after hiring. In this article, we will explain the reasons why the recruitment of foreign engineers is increasing, the advantages and disadvantages of hiring foreign engineers, and the key points for hiring foreign engineers without regrets.

If you are a company considering hiring foreign engineers, please gather information on the topic beyond just the advantages and disadvantages. The G Talent Blog, run by “G Talent”, a job-placement service for foreign engineers, contains a variety of information, including introductions to companies that have hired foreign engineers and tips on hiring foreign engineers. You can also find out what companies really think, so please refer to this article together with the G Talent Blog.

Why foreign engineers are attracting attention from companies

In recent years, the following two reasons have been cited for the growing interest in hiring foreign engineers by many companies.

• Shortage of Japanese engineers
• To smoothly develop global business

Shortage of Japanese engineers

In Japan, there is a significant shortage of IT engineers. As there is a huge shortage of talented Japanese engineers, companies are making up for this shortfall by hiring talented people from overseas.

To give a well-known example, many of the engineers working at Rakuten and Mercari are foreign nationals. In 2018, 90% of Mercari's new graduate engineers were foreign nationals, and at Rakuten, the company set English as the official language in 2012, and around 80% of the development staff hired in 2014 were foreign nationals.

Reference: メルカリの新卒エンジニア9割が外国人、インドの次はどの国から採る？／DIAMOND online

In order to smoothly develop global business

the presence of foreign talent is essential. If you can build a global team with foreign engineers, you can quickly catch up with the latest overseas technology and IT trends. You can also aim to expand overseas with foreign workers, and build and develop services for overseas customers, allowing you to smoothly carry out global business.

Reference: 人材不足を解消！外国人エンジニアの採用方法と採用のメリット・デメリット／採用係長の採用アカデミー

Advantages for companies hiring foreign engineers

For companies, there are three advantages to hiring foreign engineers.

1. Securing excellent engineers regardless of nationality
2. Development and construction of a global development environment
3. Expectation of internal revitalization through interaction

Securing excellent engineers regardless of nationality

By expanding your recruitment targets to include not only Japan but also the rest of the world, you can increase the probability of hiring talented people. One of the major advantages is that you can secure talented people more efficiently than by looking for talented people in Japan, as the number of Japanese engineers is insufficient.

Reference: 外国人エンジニアを採用するメリットとデメリットーおすすめの採用手法も／xseeds Hub

Development and construction of a global development environment

If you hire foreign engineers, it will be easier to develop and build the business you are developing in-house for overseas. This is because foreign engineers may bring in the latest overseas technology and trends, as well as ideas that Japanese people would never think of, into the company.

In the future, when you start global business by turning the services you have developed for the domestic market into services for overseas, foreign human resources will also play an active role.

Reference: 海外エンジニア採用｜メリットとデメリット、採用方法をくわしく解説／GALK

Expectation of internal revitalization through interaction

Working with engineers from different cultures and with different values will add a new stimulus to your team. Hearing about their experiences of working and living outside Japan will also turn on the curiosity switch in your team.

Through interaction with foreign engineers, you can expect to revitalize not only the same engineering team, but the entire company. It may also provide an opportunity to draw out the motivation and ideas of your employees.

Reference: 外国人エンジニア採用~メリットから定着まで完全解説～／connect job

Disadvantages and points for companies hiring foreign engineers

There are various advantages to hiring foreign engineers, but there are also disadvantages, so if you are considering hiring foreign talent, it is important to understand them. The following are three points to consider when hiring foreign engineers.

1. Possibility of not matching Japanese culture
2. Communication costs
3. Work visa acquisition procedures are required

Possibility of not matching Japanese culture

One of the major disadvantages of hiring foreign engineers is cultural differences. Even if you manage to hire a talented foreign engineer, if they don't match Japanese culture and communication doesn't go smoothly, work may not progress and become inefficient.

Furthermore, it is common for people to change jobs multiple times in order to advance their careers outside of Japan, so when hiring people from overseas to work for a Japanese company, you also need to make sure they understand the differences in the culture of changing jobs and working.

In the case of foreign engineers, you also need to understand the job-hopping cycle, where they may change jobs to another company if they don't have an attractive work environment or the opportunity to improve their skills.

Reference: 外国人技術者とは？取り入れるメリット・デメリットや採用のコツまで徹底解説！／RISE for Business

Communication costs

If the foreign engineer does not understand Japanese, you will need to secure a person to act as an intermediary between the foreign engineer and the Japanese engineers, and there will be costs involved in having the foreign engineer learn Japanese.

In some cases, it is necessary to deal with not only language but also cross-cultural understanding, and one of the disadvantages of hiring foreign engineers is that it is more expensive than hiring Japanese engineers.

Reference: 外国人エンジニア採用時の注意点とは？海外のメンバーを管理できる最新ツールを紹介／VoicePing

Work visa acquisition procedures are required

In order for a foreigner to work in Japan, they must obtain a work visa. In order to obtain a visa that allows them to work in Japan as an engineer, they must meet the requirements stipulated in the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (Immigration Control Act), and they must also go through the application process, including preparing all the necessary documents and having them checked. There are also other types of visa, such as the “Engineer” visa, in addition to the Specified Skills 1 and 2 visas.

Even after the visa has been successfully issued, there is a set period of time during which you can work with the visa, so you will need to take the necessary steps to ensure that it does not expire. One of the disadvantages of hiring foreign engineers is that you will have to go through the hassle of obtaining a work visa and the cost of consulting with a lawyer or administrative scrivener.

Reference: 【永久保存版】特定技能とエンジニアの違い～ベトナム人の受入れや直接雇用する前に～／株式会社Joh Abroad

Key points for hiring foreign engineers without regrets

If you are hiring foreign engineers, you want to be able to smoothly proceed with the hiring process without regrets, after understanding the advantages and disadvantages. From here, we will introduce three key points for successfully hiring foreign engineers.

• Understand the wages for work on a global scale, not just in Japan
• Hire people who can act as a bridge between foreign and Japanese engineers
• Ensure that the company does not get caught up in Japanese working culture

Understand the wages for work on a global scale, not just in Japan

One of the reasons why there is a shortage of engineers in Japan is that the wages for engineers in Japan are set lower than in other countries. In particular, there is a gap of around double the amount compared to the US and Europe, so from the perspective of foreign engineers, working for a Japanese company may seem like a disadvantage.

When hiring foreign engineers, it is important to understand global standards for wages so that you can pay them a salary that is commensurate with the work they do and the skills they have. If you can pay a global standard salary, you will be able to secure talented people and they will be more likely to stay with you for a long time.

Reference:【外国人向け】日本で働くエンジニアの給料事情と高収入を得るための方法[グローバルエンジニア2]／Fellowship

Hire people who can act as a bridge between foreign and Japanese engineers

There are still many companies that are not proactive about hiring foreign engineers who cannot speak Japanese. However, this means that they will never be able to hire excellent foreign talent. If you are worried about the language barrier, then why not also recruit a bridge person who can communicate in English?

A bridge worker is someone who acts as a go-between between foreign and Japanese workers. They not only bridge the language gap, but also help to bridge the gap between Japanese working culture and communication methods.

Reference: ブリッジ人材の役割と必要性｜海外進出における課題と人材採用のコツ／Talent Clip Times

Ensure that the company does not get caught up in Japanese working culture

In the IT industry and engineering work environments, remote working arrangements that do not require employees to come into the office and parallel careers that involve working for multiple companies are sometimes accepted. If you are caught up in Japan's traditional work culture and are slow to develop remote working arrangements and flexible working styles, you may be abandoned by talented people.

In order to attract talented foreign engineers, it is important to expand flexible working styles.

Reference: 外国人エンジニアを採用するメリットとデメリット【需要と日本語】／グローバル採用ナビ

How to hire foreign engineers

There are both advantages and disadvantages to hiring foreign engineers, but there are probably many people who want to hire foreign engineers in order to secure talented engineers. The following four methods can be used to specifically hire foreign engineers.

• Recruit on your company's website
• Approach foreign engineers through their SNS
• Consult with an agency specializing in foreign engineers
• Utilize a job site specializing in foreign engineers

Recruit on your company's website

By preparing your own recruitment website, you can recruit foreign talent from your recruitment page. However, this method is only effective for companies that are well known overseas. If your company is not well known, there is a good chance that your recruitment page will not even be seen in the first place.

If you are conducting recruitment activities via your company's recruitment page, you should also be aware that there will be communication costs involved, such as the need to provide information in English and to respond to recruitment inquiries in English. In order to secure talented foreign engineers, it is also important to prepare attractive employment conditions for foreign engineers.

Reference: 【外国人採用】応募者が集まらないときに見直したい自社求人サイト／YOLO WORK

Approach foreign engineers through their SNS

Since the culture of changing jobs is more developed in foreign countries than in Japan, many engineers have well-developed profile pages on LinkedIn, a social networking site for job-seekers. Using LinkedIn, it is possible to find engineers who match the image of the person your company is looking for and to approach them directly.

However, even with this method, you should be aware that there are costs involved, such as preparing human resources who can communicate with foreigners at your company and arranging work visas.

Reference: LINKEDINで外国人エンジニアを採用するには？／ONETECH

Consult with an agency specializing in foreign engineers

By consulting with an agency that specializes in recruiting foreign engineers, it is possible to efficiently recruit foreign engineers who are a good fit for your company. Most recruitment agencies have databases of foreign engineers who are interested in working in Japan, as well as know-how on obtaining work visas, so companies that have not previously recruited foreign workers can solve their worries and problems by consulting with them.

However, when using an agency, there is a cost to pay the agency when a candidate is hired. Consider using a recruitment agency in light of your recruitment budget.

Reference: 採用手法として転職サイトを使う際のメリット・デメリットとは／株式会社アールナイン

Utilize a job site specializing in foreign engineers

If you have a small budget for recruitment, we recommend using a job site that specializes in foreign engineers. It is a low-cost alternative to using a recruitment agency, and has the advantage of allowing you to reach a large number of foreign engineers.

“GitTap” is a job site specializing in foreign engineers. As many foreign engineers who want to work in a global environment are registered, companies considering hiring foreign engineers for the first time should definitely consider registering.

If you are looking for foreign engineers with specialized skills, try G Talent

If you are thinking about hiring foreign engineers, please use “G Talent”, a job-placement agency specializing in foreign IT personnel. “G Talent” focuses on IT engineers and bilingual foreign IT engineers who can hit the ground running, so you can acquire excellent foreign engineers efficiently. They also provide support for work visas and communication, so even companies that are hiring foreign engineers for the first time can do so with peace of mind.

Let's aim for business expansion by understanding the advantages and disadvantages of hiring foreign engineers!

In this article, we have introduced the advantages and disadvantages you should be aware of when hiring foreign engineers. There are advantages to hiring foreign engineers, such as being able to secure excellent human resources from all over the world regardless of nationality, and becoming a bridge for global business development. However, there are also disadvantages, such as having to be careful about differences with Japanese culture and communication costs, so you need to be careful. Make sure you keep in mind the points we have introduced here when hiring foreign engineers, and carry out your recruitment activities without regrets.

If you are considering hiring foreign engineers, please use the job-placement agency 'G Talent', which specializes in foreign IT engineers. G Talent, which supports the job-hunting and career-change activities of foreign IT engineers who want to work in Japan, has bilingual consultants with a wealth of IT knowledge who provide strong support for matching companies and engineers.