In its hiring activities, the NTT Group seeks out individuals who can respond effectively to the changes and increasing globalization of the market environment in the telecommunications field, and who will bear the responsibility for NTT's IP and broadband businesses, international operations, and other strategic fields.
For many years, we have worked to increase employment opportunities for disabled workers, but as of June 2005, the percentage of disabled employees in the NTT Group was about 1.6%*1, which is still below the mandatory level of 1.8%. All of the companies in the NTT Group will continue their determined efforts to further increase employment for the disabled*2.
The NTT Group has introduced a mandatory retirement age of 60, but from the perspective of promoting employment for seniors, we introduced a "Career Staff System" in 1999 that allows these mandatory retirees to be rehired, and to continue working up until the age of 65. Many of our valued senior employees have opted to take advantage of this system.
We also support the creation of a wide range of employment opportunities by creating work environments that take advantage of ITC (Information and Communication Technologies)*3.
- *1
- This figure refers to wholly owned the NTT Group companies and the three listed NTT companies (NTT DoCoMo, NTT DATA , and NTT Urban Development)
- *2
- See "Promoting Employment for the Disabled (Establishment of NTT Claruty)" in Activity Topics
- *3
- See "Creating Employment Opportunities through ICT Applications" in Activity Topics
The NTT Group promotes joint participation by men and women in an effort to create a corporate environment in which men and women can actively work together. We have implemented numerous systems to support employees with special family circumstances; for example, the Group's system of temporary leave for employees rearing children or caring for disabled seniors exceeds legal requirements, and we also provide company information and support correspondence education courses to ensure that these employees can easily return to their former positions. We are also working to provide even more extensive information to employees on leave based on the intent of the "Law for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation."*4
- *4
- See "Support for Employees Balancing Work and Private Life"in Activity Topics
The NTT Group has implemented a system of in-house recruitment in order to seek out and place employees with a strong desire to take on new challenges and an ability to contribute to the Group's business, and to create opportunities for these employees to try new work scenarios where they can demonstrate their own strengths.
The NTT Group encourages independent career development among all employees by clearly indicating the characteristics of the "ideal employee" (business professional) in each business field, and provides suitable programs for achieving this goal, including training seminars, e-learning programs, and correspondence education.
We have also established programs for directors and managers, with level-specific management training designed to further increase employees' management skills.
The NTT Group considers work safety to be a top priority, and makes every effort to prevent accidents before they occur, for example by constantly reviewing work environments and operation manuals, promoting awareness reforms among employees by introducing case studies, and conducting regular safety inspections.
In the event that an accident does occur, information is immediately shared throughout the NTT Group, and determined efforts are made to ensure greater work safety in the future by notifying all employees of the incident and drawing attention to safety issues, and by implementing systematic measures to prevent reoccurrences.
From the first day of employment until the day of retirement, NTT Group employees enjoy a wide range of welfare benefits. For example, the NTT Group companies offer a "Cafeteria Plan" that allows employees to freely choose their menus in keeping with their own personal lifestyles, and there are many training and counseling rooms to support employees in creating their own life designs. We have also implemented numerous health management measures, including a system for promoting mental health.
Creating Employment Opportunities through ICT Applications
 Outline of Operations at the NTT Com Cheo Virtual Contact Center
The NTT Group has created a home work environment using ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in order to create more employment opportunities for disabled individuals, people raising children, and others who have the desire, knowledge, and ability to work, but who are limited in terms of the "time" and "place" in which they can work.
For example, NTT Com Cheo has set up a system for responding to customer inquiries in which registered employees work from their own homes, answering questions by phone in cases where the inquiries do not involve the use of customer information. This system creates part-time employment for hundreds of employees who had no choice but to leave their full-time positions to care for children or to provide family care.
Two years ago, NTT NEOMEIT opened a "Virtual Factory" where telecommuters create and edit digital maps online through a broadband network. Staff at the center use teleconferencing systems and virtual network software to support telecommuters 24 hours a day. Currently, we employ over eighty people in seven prefectures in the western Japan area who telecommute because they have personal reasons that prevent them from travelling to work.
Promoting Employment for the Disabled (Establishment of NTT Claruty)
 Carpets use color contrasts to assist visually impaired employees. Stronger contrasts enable these employees to move about more easily
NTT Claruty which was established in July 2004 to further expand employment of the disabled in the NTT Group, received certification as a "Special Subsidiary"*5 in the NTT Group in June 2005.
NTT Claruty employs many individuals with disabilities, who work mainly in areas such as the operation of portal sites (Japanese only) for seniors and the disabled, evaluations of Web accessibility, and the creation of electronic data from printed materials. When the company was established, the work environment was made to accommodate even severely disabled employees, for example with slopes and vending machines designed to enable easy access to wheelchair users. This work environment is constantly being modified to reflect the opinions expressed by disabled employees.
- *5
- A system in which subsidiaries designated by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare as having met certain fixed conditions for promoting employment of the disabled are included as offices of the parent company when calculating the ratio of disabled employees
Support for Employees Balancing Work and Private Life
 The NTT Group “Child Care and Family Care Support” Homepage(Japanese)
The NTT Group has put in place a support system to assist employees in balancing their work and private lives, particularly in cases where these employees are raising young children or providing family care. There are two child-rearing support systems: one in which employees can take a temporary leave of absence for as long as three years after a new child is born, and one in which the employee can work on special schedule with shorter working hours while raising a child up to six years of age. Similarly, there are two support systems for employees caring for disabled seniors: these employees can take a "family care leave" of up to 18 months, and can work on special schedule with shorter working hours for up to three years, including the time taken for the family care leave.
The NTT Group has also created a "Child care and Family Care Support" site on its in-house intranet to ensure that all employees can easily take advantage of the systems described above. The site introduces NTT systems related to caring for children and seniors, and provides information on public and private child care services, family care services, and social insurance systems. The Group actively promotes "Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation," for example by providing employees on leave with information they might require from the workplace, and by offering whatever support might be needed to ensure that these employees can return to work easily after fulfilling their responsibilities at home.
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