Job fair with participants’ faces fully covered breaks down barriers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

November 30, 2021

A unique job fair was held in which the faces of students and company representatives were fully covered in an effort to encourage candor and eliminate prejudices and assumptions in job-search and recruitment activities, at Namba SkyO in Chuo Ward, Osaka, on Saturday.

The event was organized by the Osaka prefectural government and Nankai Electric Railway Corp., and provided an opportunity for companies and students to deepen mutual understanding without being bound by academic background, gender, company name or industry.

About 50 students and about 20 companies participated in the event, where students and recruiters stood at tables and candidly exchanged opinions about their workplace conditions and the rewarding aspects of their jobs.

“The masks allowed me to talk honestly with company reps, which was good because doing so gave me a new perspective,” said a university student who participated in the event.