U.S.-Japan Collaboration Event will Address Workforce Development Issues

Photo by University of Arkansas

Tatsuya Fukushima, associate professor of Japanese and linguistics at the University of Arkansas is one of the featured speakers at the workforce development talk.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Center For Professional Exchange (CEPEX) will host a discussion titled Japanese Innovation and Experiences, Implementing New Technology in the U.S.: From “Product Out” to “Market In” at the University of Arkansas.

CEPEX is a non-profit focused on providing support and collaboration at the professional level for cultural, interpersonal exchange and study between the United States and Japan.

The event is free and open to the public and will take place from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 12, in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development room 120.

The discussion will highlight a potential U.S.-Japan collaboration with the private sector, government authorities and educational institutions on how to address workforce development issues and the 21st century workplace.

The manufacturing industry has been transitioning from labor-intensive to advanced manufacturing systems that use automation, robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence, as well as new composite materials.

This shift has created a growing skills gap that requires new ideas and approaches to training employees.

The Honorable Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Consul-General of Japan in Nashville, will give the talk’s opening remarks, and the discussion will be led by:

• Yukio Tada, chair of the Sunrock Institute and fellow at Hokkaido University
• Yoshihiro Sasaki, president and CEO of the Funai Service Corporation
• Tatsuya Fukushima, associate professor of Japanese and linguistics in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at University of Arkansas
• Mark Hamer, director of international business development for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission
• Neal Jansen, AEDC’s director of Japan and Southeast Asia and a U of A alumnus

To register for the event or for more information, please visit the discussion website.

For more information about the Center For Professional Exchange (CEPEX), please visit www.cepex.org/about.

For more information about the Japanese language program at the University of Arkansas, please visit japanese.uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.