Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation launched the "Middle-Senior Career Expansion Consortium" in April 2023, and we talked to its members about the aims of this initiative and its accomplishments over the past year or so.

This could well be the solution to several social issues in the business community. The "Middle-Senior Career Expansion Consortium" launched in April 2023 by the Digital Planning Division at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (“MUTB”) is now in full swing. With the need for career development for middle-senior personnel expected to expand in future, corporate human resource (“HR”) departments and business operators are coming together to exchange opinions and build a forum for testing hypotheses. There were 23 HR departments participating in the consortium as of this past February, and the number is expected to grow to about 50 companies in future. No fee is required to join the consortium, whose members also enjoy the advantage of being able to gather and exchange information on other companies' personnel systems. Yohei Yoshioka, Digital Planning Office Product Manager at MUTB’s Digital Planning Division, which launched the consortium, explained the project’s aims as follows:
“As the working population declines in the future, companies are expected to have larger percentages of workers in their late 40s and 50s. The majority of these personnel are to a certain extent generationally established in their careers, which tends to diminish their motivation when their careers come to a head. We felt it was necessary to address the issues faced by middle-senior employees to encourage these middle-senior employees to play even more active roles.”

While such career support programs are usually initiated by HR-related departments, the company's Digital Planning Division is in charge of everything from planning to operation. Mr. Yoshioka continued:
“One of the missions of the Digital Planning Division is to launch new businesses, and we have already started up a small-lot securities business for real estate-related investment products using blockchain technology. Our vision in this context is to be a trust bank that creates a secure and prosperous society. We have many individual customers in their 60s and 70s, and we originally thought of a different business theme for seniors. During interviews conducting in the course of our market research, we regularly asked survey subjects what they thought would constitute an affluent society and an affluent second life. Interestingly, the answers they gave prioritized neither money nor good service, but social connectedness.”
For many, their previous associations ceased once they retired, and they regretted in retrospect not having participated in communities outside the company. On the other hand, those who are enjoying a prosperous second life are doing so largely because they interacted and connected with people outside the company when they were in their 40s and 50s. Accordingly, it appeared more promising to offer career support for middle-seniors as a means of expanding their behavioral and career horizons while they are in their 40s and 50s than to provide them with services when they are in their 60s and 70s.
“As trust bank operations often deal with matters pertaining to corporate pensions and retirement benefits, I have frequent opportunities to interact with companies’ human resources departments. We usually talk a lot about money, but I also hear numerous concerns about careers in this era of century-long lifespans. With human capital management coming under scrutiny these days, we thought it would be effective to embark on a new career support program for middle-senior employees," remarked Mr. Yoshioka.

It is interesting to note that this "Middle-Senior Career Expansion Consortium" has taken the form of a consortium of multiple companies rather than a single company. While other companies have created HR career-related consortiums, this is the first consortium to focus on middle-senior careers, a rarity even in the financial industry.
“In our interviews with various companies, we have often heard that the effectiveness of measures would not be apparent if undertaken by a single company alone. If that is the case, it would be better for everyone to work together to come up with a plan. The consortium itself is not intended to be a business but rather a venue for co-creation to ponder the human resource domain," noted Mr. Yoshioka.
The consortium's specific efforts are divided into three main categories: research, verification, and dissemination. For research purposes, the consortium meets once a month to introduce case studies, share issues, and assemble knowledge from businesses and specialized organizations to come up with effective measures. Demonstration testing is then conducted to verify the effectiveness of measures, and steps for further improvement are discussed. The results of these research and verification activities are subsequently disseminated to the public to help resolve social issues.
The participating companies extend beyond the Mitsubishi Group; the HR departments of 23 companies, mainly major corporations, and about 10 business operators were also participating as of this past February. Daisuke Kaneda, Digital Planning Office Manager at MUTB’s Digital Planning Division, had the following to say:
“I get the impression that the larger the company, the deeper the concerns regarding middle-senior careers. Most people in their 40s and 50s who work for large companies have been with their companies for 20 to 30 years or more since joining straight out of university. Most of them have never changed jobs, and they seem to have a very different sense of career from today's younger generations.”

The consortium is examining and verifying a variety of measures to solve the issues faced by company personnel departments. For example, if it is the case that many employees lose motivation after retirement under the age limit system for managerial personnel, they can be motivated by having them experience outside activities and reflect on their own company before retirement. If career training programs have been implemented but have not led to changes in employee behavior, employees might be provided with an environment where they can gain experience outside the company after receiving classroom training. If there are many employees who believe that the skills and experience they have developed over the years are not applicable outside the company, companies should have them reaffirm their skills by enabling them to gain outside experience. These specific measures are being considered and their effectiveness is being verified through demonstration tests.
“We do not yet have the right answer, but we are discussing numerous issues and implementing measures that we believe will be effective. Interaction and networking with people outside the company have taken on increasingly significant roles in this, and many people have commented that it is refreshing to have discussions and create communities with people of the same generation but different companies, from which new insights can be gained. I think there is a possibility there,” said Kaneda.
The first phase of the consortium's demonstration testing took place from September to November 2023, with 16 people participating in workshops on agricultural experiences and vacant house rehabilitation projects. The second phase was implemented from February to March 2024, also with 16 participants. Yoshioka commented:
“The participants have lots of talents and ideas stemming from their long careers, and they are making the most of the strengths they have cultivated over the years. While drawing up an income and expenditure plan might be commonplace in the banking industry, it can seem a major strength from the perspective of someone from another industry. In future, we will also be considering having participants from different companies engage in side businesses with each other or having them choose partners on their own to ask about career change experiences or second lives. We hope that middle-seniors will take advantage of these opportunities to gain new insights.”