FOR EMPLOYERS
Hiring tradespeople starts with showing the site.
Construction management, electrical work, plant maintenance, automotive repair. In occupations with job openings ratios between 3 and 5, job seekers are in a position to compare many openings. Before you’re compared on pay and days off alone, why not let them see the workplace itself? Cura（クーラ）is a hiring service that starts with workplace visits and trial days.
The Cura app is in Japanese.（クーラのアプリ／サイトは日本語です）
01 MARKET
In the skilled trades, job seekers choose.
The job openings ratio for all occupations is 1.10 (FY2025). In the skilled trades, there are 3 to 5 times as many openings per job seeker.
5.58
Job openings ratio, architecture, civil engineering & surveying engineers
Source: 一般職業紹介状況 — Employment Referrals for General Workers, FY2025 (MHLW)
4.04
Job openings ratio, machinery maintenance & repair workers
Source: 一般職業紹介状況 — Employment Referrals for General Workers, FY2025 (MHLW)
3.37
Job openings ratio, electrical construction workers
Source: 一般職業紹介状況 — Employment Referrals for General Workers, FY2025 (MHLW)
An aging workforce
36.7%
Share of construction workers aged 55 or older (2024)
Source: 改正建設業法 説明会資料 — briefing materials on the amended Construction Business Act (MLIT, Jan 2026; based on the Labour Force Survey)
43.6%
Share of 1st-class Architects at registered architect offices aged 60 or older (2024)
Source: 建築分野の担い手の動向について — trends in the architectural workforce (MLIT, 2025)
47.7
Average age of automotive maintenance staff (end of June 2025)
Source: 自動車特定整備業実態調査 — survey of certified automotive maintenance businesses (JASPA, Jan 2026)
In construction, 37.0% of new hires came through personal connections, 24.2% through Hello Work and 5.6% through private placement agencies (2025 Survey on Employment Trends（令和7年雇用動向調査）, MHLW; shares of all new hires). It’s an industry where much hiring relies on people you know.
02 WHY FIELD
Strengths a job ad can’t convey
come across on site.
Much of what skilled-trades job seekers care about is hard to convey in a few lines of a job ad. A visit or trial day lets job seekers learn what the workplace is really like before joining, and lets you show the strengths of your site directly.
- Organization and safety managementMorning briefings, hazard-prediction (KY) activities, a tidy site. The atmosphere is obvious once you see it.
- Equipment and toolsDiagnostic and scan tools, measuring instruments, CAD and BIM. The tools they get to use matter to tradespeople.
- Who teachesWho teaches, and how. A talk with senior staff gets it across.
- Support for licensesExam and course fees, schedule adjustments before exams, certifying practical experience. The more a trade builds on licenses, the more this resonates.
03 HOW
Visit → trial → hire.
- 01
Visit
Job seekers can apply for workplace visits and trial days without a résumé or interview.
- 02
Trial day
Candidates work a one-day trial (paid). Licenses are checked with documents.
- 03
Hire
If both sides are happy, move on to hiring. No one is obliged to hire or be hired.
Cura covers 41 occupations, including skilled trades such as construction management, electrical work and automotive repair. See the page for employers for fees and detailed terms.
SAFETY FIRST / FOR TRIAL DAYS
- Work that requires an Electrician, Fire Protection Equipment Technician or similar license must not be given to people without it. Plan to show the site within the scope of accompanying and assisting.
- In automotive maintenance, servicing vehicles with built-in batteries of more than 50 V to ground is work that requires special education under the Industrial Safety and Health Regulations.
- Don’t give hazardous work (at height, near rotating machinery, on electrical equipment, etc.) to people who haven’t received safety training.
- From October 1, 2026, employers are required to take measures to prevent sexual harassment of workplace visitors and job seekers (amended Equal Employment Opportunity Act). This includes visits and trial days.
SOURCES
- 一般職業紹介状況（職業安定業務統計）・雇用関係指標（年度）2025年度 — Employment Referrals for General Workers (Public Employment Security Statistics), employment indicators by fiscal year, FY2025 (MHLW, published 2026)
- 改正建設業法「令和７年１２月施行分」説明会資料（労働力調査をもとに国交省作成） — Briefing materials on the amended Construction Business Act, Dec 2025 provisions (prepared by MLIT from the Labour Force Survey) (MLIT, Jan 2026)
- 建築分野の担い手の動向について（建築分野の中長期的なあり方に関する懇談会 資料4） — Trends in the architectural workforce (roundtable on the future of the building sector, Document 4) (MLIT, 2025)
- 令和7年度 自動車特定整備業実態調査結果の概要 — Summary of the FY2025 survey of certified automotive maintenance businesses (Japan Automobile Service Promotion Association (JASPA), Jan 2026)
- 令和7年雇用動向調査 第16表（入職経路別入職者数。構成比は資料側で算出） — 2025 Survey on Employment Trends, Table 16 (new hires by hiring channel; shares calculated by the source material) (MHLW, published Aug 2026)
- 電気工事士法 第3条（e-Gov法令検索） — Electricians Act Art. 3 (e-Gov law search) (Digital Agency (e-Gov), current version)
- 消防法施行令 第36条・消防法施行規則 第31条の6（e-Gov法令検索） — Fire Service Act Enforcement Order Art. 36 and Enforcement Regulations Art. 31-6 (e-Gov law search) (Digital Agency (e-Gov), current version)
- 労働安全衛生規則 第36条（e-Gov法令検索） — Industrial Safety and Health Regulations Art. 36 (e-Gov law search) (Digital Agency (e-Gov), current version)
- 企業において募集・採用に携わるすべての方へ 男女均等な採用選考ルール — Equal hiring rules for men and women: for everyone involved in recruiting and hiring (MHLW, prepared Jun 2026)
FOR EMPLOYERS
First, let them see your site.
Hiring that starts with visits and trial days. Let tradespeople who live nearby see your site.
The Cura app is in Japanese.（クーラのアプリ／サイトは日本語です）