Since 2007, the number of young people preparing for employment-related tests has increased steadily, peaking at about 960,000 in 2013, and the largest group consists of those preparing for civil servant exams (about 319,000).
About one quarter of unemployed young people with a four-year college degree or a graduate school degree are preparing for civil servant exams.
The percentage of four-year college graduates (including students on a leave of absence) preparing for employment-related tests has increased by 3.4%p from 8.7% (2007) to 12.1% (2013).
The percentage of workers preparing for entrance exams (government offices, private companies, and public companies) has increased by 8.9%p from 14.0% (2007) to 22.9% (2013). This signifies that there has been an increase in the number of employed young people preparing to change jobs in search of better employment conditions.
Reform is needed in the recruitment practice dependent on large-scale open recruitments through written tests, producing a huge number of exam-takers, and a comprehensive information network for the status on the utilization of qualifications should be established in response to the increase in the number of young people preparing to obtain qualifications.