On 29 October, the Second 2008 Workshop participants visited the Kobe City Silver Human Resources Center. Mr. Fusao Tsushida, Manager, Mr. Yura Kōji, Active Life Support Section Manager, and Ms. Aiko Kado, Staff, General Affairs Division, explained how the foundation coordinates employment and activity groups for the aged, with the support of Kobe City Government.

With many citizens living 20-25 years after retirement age, the question of how they can lead fulfilling and active lives is answered by the Silver Human Resources Center. A non-profit, city funded organization, the center provides elderly citizens with employment opportunities. 

Citizens over the age of 60 who are healthy and willing to work are encouraged to approach one of the local branches in five of the nine wards of Kobe City, where they are interviewed on their skills and employment requirements, and signed up as members. 

Then, depending on the positions which have been made available to the centers by local employers, members are informed of working conditions and allocated suitable employment posts. These are often light (less than 10kg of lifting), non-hazardous jobs. Around 50% are ‘general work’ like cleaning, weeding parks, food preparation, packaging; 20% are in administrative and surveillance-related employment; 6% are in skilled work, such as teaching, painting, gardening, computing, or cooking positions; and 7% are clerical positions.

In 2007, the Kobe City Silver Human Resources Center had 10,839 members, and 63.2% were found employment, with an average monthly salary of 55,000 yen. 

Employment contracts are made between the employer and the center, so there is no direct contract between the employer and worker. The center receives 7% of the contract fees for its administrative costs, as well as annual membership fees of 3,900 yen from each member, and government subsidies for running costs. 

The regional and five local centers are currently staffed by a total of 90 people, 24 of whom are dispatched by the city government. The local centers receive applications for membership and the job offers from employers, and the regional center houses the administration and job development department, to coordinate members and employment opportunities. 

Not all members can be found employment, and occasionally members are not suited to the positions which are found for them. Usually though, as the jobs are light in nature, and prior consultation and information is available to members, so there are few mismatches. Monitoring is done by the center through questionnaires to the employers, whose satisfaction rate with the system is high. 

The Kobe City Silver Human Resources Center is part of the Kobe Well-being and Life Enrichment Promotion Foundation, which also offers job counseling and seminars, lectures and training courses, and guidebooks on public pension plans and medical and unemployment insurance for elderly citizens. It arranges the Silver Pack welfare promotion program, which includes wide-ranging activity and hobby groups (singing, dance and crafts etc.) which keep citizens physically and socially active in old age. 

As of 2008, 1,485 members here also pay the 3,900 yen annual fee, and with city subsidies, the foundation coordinates activity group members and venues, and publishes newsletters on its activities, to keep the public informed. 

By providing comprehensive guidance, training, activity clubs and suitable employment opportunities for the elderly, the Well-being and Life Enrichment Promotion Foundation and its Silver Human Resources Center help citizens to maintain their healthy and active involvement in society, as well as their financial independence and lifelong education.