"Convenience store owners needed": lack of suitable people, explanatory meeting for students

Recently the NHK New On-line reported the following:

「求む！コンビニオーナー」なり手不足で学生に説明会

4月14日 17時28分

人手不足の影響でコンビニの店舗を運営する人材が足りなくなってきていることから、「ローソン」はオーナーを目指す学生を対象にした採用説明会を開きました。

人手不足が深刻化する中、コンビニ業界では店員にとどまらず、店舗を運営するオーナーのなり手も足りなくなり始めています。

このためコンビニ大手のローソンは、店舗のオーナーになることを前提に新卒の学生を契約社員として採用する制度を来年春から導入することになり、１４日、都内で説明会を開きました。

５人の学生が参加し、契約社員として給料をもらいながら経営のノウハウを学んだあと、１年以内にオーナーとして独立するという新たな制度を真剣に聞いていました。

参加した学生は「会社を運営する力を若いうちから学べるのは魅力があると感じました。就職活動するうえで選択肢の一つだと思う」と話していました。

会社は、オーナーとして独立する際、店舗の開店資金を支援することにしていて、採用の担当者は「若いかたは５０年は店舗を運営でき、多くの店舗を経営してもらうチャンスが多いと思うので期待しています」と話しています。

契約社員として採用しオーナーのなり手に育てる制度は「モスバーガー」を展開する会社もこの春から導入し、フランチャイズ方式で店舗を拡大してきたコンビニや外食業界ではオーナー人材をみずから育成する動きがさらに広がりそうです。

Translation

Because of the shortage of labor, there was a lack of human resources in managing convenience stores; "Lawson" held an appointment explanatory meeting with the subject of making students to become owners.

Shortage of labor was getting intensified, it was not limited to shop assistants in the convenience store industry but also people who were willing to become manages of  stores had begun to run out too.

Therefore on the presumption of making new graduate students to become an owner of a store, Lawson as a major convenience store company introduced a system to employ newly graduated students from spring next year, and on the 14th held an explanatory meeting in the Metropolitan area.

Five students had participated. As newly graduated employees, after learning the know-how of management and with payment they would turn independent and become a store owner within 1 year in the new system. It was learned that these were done in earnest.

A student who had participated said that "the charm was felt when one can learn company management while in youth, I think it's one of the choices when going about to get a job."

As a person in charge and then become an independent owner, the company would support this store with opening funds. Those who were elected said “there is the expectation that a young people can manage a store for 50 years, and there are lots of chances to manage more than one store."

About the system to pick new graduates as employees and to train them into shop owners,  the company which developed "MOS Burger" would also introduce this from this spring, and more movements to train up ownership human resources under a franchise system seemed to be spreading among the convenience stores and the eating-out industry.

   It seems that it is a new kind of business pattern.