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Service workers not classified elsewhere

How to become a Childcare Assistant

Also called: Nursery assistant, Childcare helper

Mainly supports childcare workers in nurseries and similar settings, looking after children and keeping things running smoothly.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university or junior college 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 education or qualifications are required. If you have raised children or worked with children, it is a job you can settle into fairly quickly, even after a break from work. Many jobs are part-time or casual, so people with limited time can work short hours on times and days that suit them. Some hiring uses national programmes introduced to reduce the burden on childcare workers (such as the programme to boost the hiring of childcare assistants). There are many jobs at times such as early morning and evening, and students who want experience in childcare as they aim for a job working with children, and older people with plenty of life experience, are welcome. To improve your childcare knowledge and skills, you can use the nationwide childcare support worker training that local governments run at no cost to expand the childcare workforce, and some facilities encourage staff to attend. Childcare assistants tend to have less secure jobs and income than childcare workers, so some people study at a childcare training school or by distance learning, or sit the childcare worker exam, to gain the qualification and work as a childcare worker. The job involves being with children and moving around a lot, so a certain level of fitness is needed. As well as looking after your own health, to keep children safe and secure you should be observant and attentive and have basic knowledge of children's development and health. Young children often cannot yet express what they want, and you may look after several at once, so you need patience to listen to each one and wait for them. You often work with childcare workers and other staff, so communication skills are needed too.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Childcare Assistant?

No education or qualifications are required. If you have raised children or worked with children, it is a job you can settle into fairly quickly, even after a break from work. Many jobs are part-time or casual, so people with limited time can work short hours on times and days that suit them. Some hiring uses national programmes introduced to reduce the burden on childcare workers (such as the programme to boost the hiring of childcare assistants). There are many jobs at times such as early morning and evening, and students who want experience in childcare as they aim for a job working with children, and older people with plenty of life experience, are welcome. To improve your childcare knowledge and skills, you can use the nationwide childcare support worker training that local governments run at no cost to expand the childcare workforce, and some facilities encourage staff to attend. Childcare assistants tend to have less secure jobs and income than childcare workers, so some people study at a childcare training school or by distance learning, or sit the childcare worker exam, to gain the qualification and work as a childcare worker. The job involves being with children and moving around a lot, so a certain level of fitness is needed. As well as looking after your own health, to keep children safe and secure you should be observant and attentive and have basic knowledge of children's development and health. Young children often cannot yet express what they want, and you may look after several at once, so you need patience to listen to each one and wait for them. You often work with childcare workers and other staff, so communication skills are needed too.

How much does a Childcare Assistant 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 a Childcare Assistant?

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 a Childcare Assistant?

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