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Other social welfare specialist professionals

How to become a Child Welfare Instructor

Also called: After-school day service instructor (children with disabilities), Certified social worker (child welfare facility), Youth instructor, Child independence support specialist, Child life support worker, Mother and child support worker

Raises and guides children in children's homes and similar facilities for children who need care because of their family situation, including helping them with daily life.

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

To become a child welfare instructor you need the instructor appointment qualification. You gain this qualification by meeting any one of these conditions: (i) graduating from a four-year university or distance-learning university in a faculty or department specialising in social welfare, psychology, education or sociology; (ii) holding the qualification of certified social worker or psychiatric social worker; (iii) graduating from high school or a secondary school and working in child welfare for at least 2 years; (iv) working in child welfare for at least 3 years and being approved by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or a prefectural governor; or (v) holding a kindergarten, primary, junior high or high school teaching licence and being approved by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or a prefectural governor. Once you meet the appointment qualification, you must pass the public service exam to work in a facility run by a local government, or the facility's own recruitment exam to work in a private facility such as one run by a social welfare corporation. After being hired, you work as a child welfare instructor. Because the job involves caring for children's daily lives and safety, kindness, a warm and accepting nature, and fairness are needed.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Child Welfare Instructor?

To become a child welfare instructor you need the instructor appointment qualification. You gain this qualification by meeting any one of these conditions: (i) graduating from a four-year university or distance-learning university in a faculty or department specialising in social welfare, psychology, education or sociology; (ii) holding the qualification of certified social worker or psychiatric social worker; (iii) graduating from high school or a secondary school and working in child welfare for at least 2 years; (iv) working in child welfare for at least 3 years and being approved by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or a prefectural governor; or (v) holding a kindergarten, primary, junior high or high school teaching licence and being approved by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare or a prefectural governor. Once you meet the appointment qualification, you must pass the public service exam to work in a facility run by a local government, or the facility's own recruitment exam to work in a private facility such as one run by a social welfare corporation. After being hired, you work as a child welfare instructor. Because the job involves caring for children's daily lives and safety, kindness, a warm and accepting nature, and fairness are needed.

How much does a Child Welfare Instructor earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥4,416,600 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Other social welfare specialist professionals, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Child Welfare Instructor?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 42% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Social Work & Community degrees; Junior college (短期大学) programme; Vocational college (専門学校) course: Social welfare.

Will AI change the work of a Child Welfare Instructor?

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