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How to become an After-School Childcare Worker

Also called: After-School Club Support Worker, After-School Child Support Worker

Provides a place for play and daily life at after-school care centres (after-school children's clubs) after school, on Saturdays and in the spring, summer and winter holidays, for primary school children whose parents are out during the day for work or other reasons.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but there is an appointment qualification, the after-school child support worker, certified by prefectures, and as a rule centres must have at least two certified staff for every 40 or so children. Those eligible for the after-school child support worker qualification include people with qualifications such as childcare worker, certified social worker or a teaching licence, people who completed certain courses such as social welfare at university, and people with at least five years (two years for those with at least high school level education) of relevant work experience whom the mayor recognises as suitable, so you can also aim for it after starting work. People who meet the requirements gain the qualification by taking and completing the after-school child support worker certification training run by the prefecture, covering 16 subjects over 24 hours. Holders of certain qualifications, such as childcare workers, are exempt from part of the training. A national standard once required after-school care providers to have at least two qualified after-school child support workers, but after concerns that staff were hard to find, staffing rules have been left to cities, towns and villages since the 2020 financial year. After-school childcare workers are directly involved in children's daily lives, so the job requires respect for human rights and privacy, building trust with children and parents, and childcare expertise. Teamwork with colleagues and, when needed, working with schools and local people are important, so cooperation and communication skills are also needed. More children and parents now have foreign backgrounds, so everyday conversation in a foreign language is sometimes needed too.

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Questions people ask

How do I become an After-School Childcare Worker?

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but there is an appointment qualification, the after-school child support worker, certified by prefectures, and as a rule centres must have at least two certified staff for every 40 or so children. Those eligible for the after-school child support worker qualification include people with qualifications such as childcare worker, certified social worker or a teaching licence, people who completed certain courses such as social welfare at university, and people with at least five years (two years for those with at least high school level education) of relevant work experience whom the mayor recognises as suitable, so you can also aim for it after starting work. People who meet the requirements gain the qualification by taking and completing the after-school child support worker certification training run by the prefecture, covering 16 subjects over 24 hours. Holders of certain qualifications, such as childcare workers, are exempt from part of the training. A national standard once required after-school care providers to have at least two qualified after-school child support workers, but after concerns that staff were hard to find, staffing rules have been left to cities, towns and villages since the 2020 financial year. After-school childcare workers are directly involved in children's daily lives, so the job requires respect for human rights and privacy, building trust with children and parents, and childcare expertise. Teamwork with colleagues and, when needed, working with schools and local people are important, so cooperation and communication skills are also needed. More children and parents now have foreign backgrounds, so everyday conversation in a foreign language is sometimes needed too.

How much does an After-School Childcare Worker earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥4,026,700 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Other service workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an After-School Childcare Worker?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 28% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Junior college (短期大学) programme; Vocational college (専門学校) course: Childcare worker training.

Will AI change the work of an After-School Childcare Worker?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026