Getting the Most Out of Our Employees While Respecting Diversity and Inclusion

Getting the Most Out of Our Employees
While Respecting Diversity and Inclusion

Human Resource Development

Our Approach

We believe that employees grow after obtaining practical, first-hand experience. The foundation of our human resource development is fostering a proactive stance where employees work every day to embody our mission and values and thorough on-the-job training led by a supervisor or senior colleague intended to support colleague growth.

We support human resource development through this practical, on-the-job experience. To complement this, we have put into place a number of opportunities for growth and for fostering a work ethic of self-improvement.

Ideal Human Resources for Embodying our Mission and Values

● Human resources with a strong ability to problem solve
● Human resources who can contribute to the success of the team and not just the individual
● Human resources who can play an active role in global business
● Human resources willing to take on new challenges

Our Initiatives

1 Definition of Job Classes in the Human Resource Evaluation System

Our human resource development is spearheaded by the General Affairs and Personnel Department . Classes have been defined within the overall human resource evaluation system and the expected level of each class is clearly defined. The definition of job classes ensures consistency between the ideal human resources for embodying our mission and values and human resource evaluation standards, based on the intended direction of human resource development.

Definition of job classes

Classes	Level	Definition of Job Classes
Class 1	Top management	Able to set goals from a long-term and company-wide perspective, formulate and promote plans to achieve these, and achieve company-wide goals. Serve as a role model for subordinates and make a significant contribution to the achievement of company goals by making proposals and undertaking improvement activities across departments.
Class 2	Middle management	Able to set goals from a medium-term and department-wide perspective, formulate and promote plans to achieve these, and achieve department-specific goals. Serve as a role model for subordinates and make a significant contribution to the achievement of company goals by making proposals and undertaking improvement activities across departments.
Class 3	Lower management	Able to set goals from a short-term and individual-level perspective, formulate and promote plans to achieve these, and achieve team goals. Serve as a role model for subordinates and can perform value-added work by making proposals and undertaking improvement activities themselves.
Class 4	Practical supervision	In addition to carrying out work in the area for which they are responsible, able to supervise and promote daily work using cooperation within and between departments and guidance and supervision. Can also actively contribute to higher-grade work.
Class 5	Independent person in charge	Possess sufficient knowledge and skills in the business domain for which they are responsible, and able to independently carry out work in their respective business domainwhile receiving minimal support from superiors. Can also actively contribute to higher-grade work.
Class 6	Person in charge	Able to demonstrate basic knowledge and skills in the company's core business operations and steadily carry out work within the scope assigned, with the support of superiors. Can also actively contribute to higher-grade work.

2 TOEIC Bonus Program

In order to develop human resources who can play an active role globally, we have established a program that subsidizes the TOEIC examination fee (unlimited number of tests) and rewards employees who earn a certain score with a bonus. As of the end of June 2024, a total of 14 employees (cumulative number) received this bonuses under the TOEIC bonus program since the program was introduced in August 2021.

Score	35 years of age and younger	36 years of age and older
750 points and higher	100,000 yen	50,000 yen
825 points and higher	200,000 yen	100,000 yen
900 points and higher	300,000 yen	150,000 yen

3 Wealth of Opportunities for Working Abroad

Recognizing that international work experience is extremely effective in developing human resources who can play an active role globally, as of the end of June 2024, we have assigned 13 of our 85 full-time employees to our overseas locations as expatriate employees.

Going forward, we will continue to actively provide employees with opportunities to gain work experience abroad.

Promoting Occupational Safety: Initiatives to Ensure Safety in the Aquaculture Business

Issues

Sea-based aquaculture farms are located offshore. Daily feeding of farmed fish typically requires a feeder boat to travel to the aquaculture cage, which can be dangerous in bad weather. In order to make aquaculture a sustainable business, the group believes that it is our task to further improve the safety of employees involved in the Aquaculture Business.

The group’s Initiatives

Improvement of feeding work by introduction of barges

In the fall of 2022, our subsidiary Japan Salmon Farm Inc. introduced automatic feeding by barge for the first time in Japan. Barges are non-propelled boats that can store feed for about two weeks. The barges enable the stocking of feed onboard and implementation of remote feeding. The replenishment of feed on barges can be done in bulk when weather conditions are favorable, improving the safety of workers involved in the process.

Other Effects from Utilizing Barges

The utilization of remote-controlled feeding using barges ensures feeding operations are not affected by worker proficiency in seamanship or working at sea, which makes it possible to hire diverse human resources.

In addition, since it is easier to obtain and analyze feeding data more precisely through remote control, we can expect to accumulate the know-how for best feeding practices.

In addition, this application is expected to positively impact the growth of aquaculture fish. In the past, we had to give up feeding on bad weather days, which raised concerns about the impact on growth. With the introduction of barges, feeding is uninterrupted regardless of the weather, and stable growth of aquaculture fish can be achieved.

Improving Work Spaces at Sea-based Aquaculture Cages

The cages used in Japan are generally about 25 meters in diameter and the work space is limited. As such, work has to be done in relatively unstable conditions. The group imports large fish cages (40 meters in diameter) from Denmark that are manufactured outside of Japan. Large fish cages are more stable at sea and offer a wider working space, leading to improved worker safety.

Promotion of Diversity and Inclusion

Background

Population decline, low birthrate and an ageing population have become major issues facing Japan since 2008. Among these, the population in Aomori prefecture, where we were founded, is rapidly decreasing. Each year, Aomori ranks among the top prefectures in Japan in the rate of population decline. According to the Aomori Prefecture Long-term Population Vision of the prefectural government’s Planning and Policy Department, the prefecture’s population is expected to decline from 1.23 million in 2021 to around 820,000 in 2045. Moreover, elderly as a percentage of Aomori’s population was most recently 33.9%, which was above the national average of 28.1%. A reason for the declining population in Aomori is the outflow of people from the prefecture as a whole. This trend is particularly true for Aomori City, which is the prefectural capital. Currently, residents move out of the prefecture as they graduate from high school or university for work. This is because of the relatively limited number of attractive companies and job opportunities, as well as lower pay.

The group’s Approach

As most of the group’s domestic production activities are carried out by people living in Aomori Prefecture, it is essential to develop a work environment that enables diverse employees to play an active role for the maintenance and expansion of our business given that the population in Aomori is declining and ageing.

By incorporating the advanced knowledge and know-how of aquaculture from our Danish subsidiary Musholm A/S, the group will create rewarding jobs in Aomori Prefecture, which has been experiencing depopulation for many years. The group hopes to promote initiatives that encourage the active participation of human resources.

The group’s Initiatives

The group is making the following efforts for stable long-term employment of diverse human resources.

Job Creation in Cities in Danger of Vanishing

All of the salmon trout aquaculture farms operated by Japan Salmon Farm Inc. are located in depopulated areas in Aomori Prefecture. We hope to revitalize these communities by operating a business with high social contribution in communities that could vanish altogether to attract locals to apply for jobs or entice young people who had once left the prefecture to return.

Diversity in Hiring at the Aomori Head Office

We believe the provision of a stable place of employment to the elderly in Aomori, where the population is ageing, is a significant way of contributing to society. We have established a workplace environment where even seniors can work with peace of mind. Examples include offering boots with improved anti-slip performance, and displaying signage in larger, easier to read fonts.

In 2023, we entered the nine year of hosting technical intern trainees from Vietnam and Myanmar. We have put up signage for equipment handling precautions in Vietnamese and Burmese for these trainees. We will continue to offer a vibrant employment environment in the suburbs of Aomori City where young technical intern trainees from foreign countries and local seniors can work together.

Utilizing a Diverse Workforce in Our Aquaculture Business and Ensuring Their Safety

By implementing remote-controlled feeding using a barge, we are creating opportunities for a diverse range of human resources to play an active role regardless of their proficiency in seamanship or working at sea.

In addition, the use of barges and the improvement of working spaces in sea-based cages have improved the safety of workers, leading to more opportunities for the utilization of diverse human resources.

Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation

Okamura Foods Group’s employment in Aomori Prefecture is presented below. We strive to ensure local jobs and diversity in the workplace.

Number of Group Employees in Aomori Prefecture (as of June 30, 2024)

Place of residence (current address)	Number of employees
Residents of Aomori City and its surrounding areas	249
Residents of Fukaura Town, Nishitsugaru District and surrounding areas	7
Residents of Imabetsu Town, Higashitsugaru District and surrounding areas	24
Total	280
Of these, age 65 and older	16
Of these, foreign nationals (technical intern trainees included)	55

* Total number of employees at our head offi ce and the number of employees at Japan Salmon Farm Inc.

The number includes hourly employees.