Careful Preparation Required for Dispatch to Local Areas

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:07 JST, December 2, 2020

The government has decided to establish a system under which major banks will dispatch current and former employees to regional financial institutions, such as banks, and local companies, in an effort to support the revitalization of regional economies.

The government aims to dispatch thousands of personnel, capitalizing on their expertise to drive growth in regional areas.

Funding for the new system will be included in an economic stimulus package to be compiled in December, with about 3 billion yen earmarked in the proposed third supplementary budget of fiscal 2020.

The publicly and privately funded Regional Economy Vitalization Corporation of Japan (REVIC) will run the system.

Regional banks and other institutions will request the dispatch of personnel based on a list of staff registered with major banks including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc.

REVIC provides tailored training based on work details and regional features.

In case of any wage discrepancies between the two work locations, the government will make up the difference in compensation for the time being.

The government is also hoping employees dispatched to regional financial institutions and companies will continue to work in those positions over the long term. The aim is to create a flow of workers from urban to regional areas in a bid to rectify overconcentration in Tokyo and revitalize regional economies.

Careful preparation required

The government plans to promote sending workers from major banks to regional areas in the hope that increasing the mobility of human resources will support the revitalization of regional economies. If business reform is promoted through diversification of human resources, it will help the reorganization of regional banks and small and midsize companies, moves that are gaining momentum under Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Major banks are downsizing their human resources as they move toward digitization. Amid the need to reform the way people work, new career paths are expected to be created.

On the other hand, it is expected that there will be major changes in wages, working conditions and job descriptions for those who will be dispatched to regional areas. If they do not have sufficient understanding, they may not be able to make full use of their abilities. It is necessary to proceed with the project after carefully preparing methods of selecting and training the target personnel. If the entire system starts out in an undeveloped state, it could lead to a series of problems and an unwanted decrease in the mobility of human resources.