The Sakae Institute of Study Abroad (SISA) has been helping students find American study abroad programs that work for them for over 45 years, coordinating programs and support for over 10000 students. As Japan enters a more globalized age than it has ever seen before, the need for skilled foreign employees with Japanese language ability in offices has grown tremendously. However, just as it is difficult for students and recent graduates to find internships, it is likewise difficult for Japanese companies to advertise overseas and set up internship programs. Our goal is bridge the gap between companies and interns, and enable them to work together and meet without the difficulty of setting up a program across the ocean, and without the difficulty of having to research and apply to hundreds of companies individually. Due to the complications of the application process, obtaining one's visa, differences in hiring systems, and the language barrier, many skilled students choose to join the JET program unrelated to what they studied, or go on costly internship programs that charge them. When our CEO, Sakae Yoko, caught wind of this, she was shocked that companies could charge companies for skilled labor, and that students could not find paid work in their fields. Thus, we decided to create a very different kind of service in which we play a simple intermediary role in pairing interns with companies without having to charge large fees. By building a network of relationships with companies, we can make the application process for interns as painless and efficient as possible, and help them find paid internships that will open the doors to their future careers.
