TOKYO - Japan has proposed adding the aviation sector to the Employment for Skill Development Program, with airport ground handling as the covered work.
The government presented the draft change at its Sept. 9 expert-panel meeting on the Specified Skilled Worker and Employment for Skill Development systems.
The Immigration Services Agency described the meeting as the start of work toward revising the sector-specific operating policies, while the government is aiming for a Cabinet decision in December.
Under the proposed allocation, aviation would retain a combined intake ceiling of 4,900 workers. Of that total, 4,600 places would be assigned to Specified Skilled Worker Type 1 and 300 to Employment for Skill Development, shifting 300 places into the new system rather than expanding the sector’s overall ceiling.
The proposed Employment for Skill Development coverage would be limited to airport ground handling, including cargo loading and unloading. Aircraft maintenance is also part of the existing Specified Skilled Worker aviation field, but it is not included in the proposed addition to the new program.
Adding aviation would bring Employment for Skill Development to 18 covered sectors. The agency’s current aviation rules put the Specified Skilled Worker Type 1 aviation ceiling at 4,900 through the end of March 2029 and list airport ground handling and aircraft maintenance as separate work categories.
The Employment for Skill Development framework, part of Japan’s broader foreign-worker intake overhaul, is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2027, under legislation replacing the Technical Intern Training Program.
It is designed around generally three years of employment and training, with workers developing toward the skill level required for Specified Skilled Worker Type 1.
The aviation change has not yet been adopted. If approved as planned, the revised sector policy would allow the 300-place Employment for Skill Development allocation to cover airport ground handling when the new program begins, while leaving the overall aviation ceiling unchanged.
