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Childcare workers

How to become a Childcare Worker

Also called: Early Childhood Educator

Cares for children using specialist knowledge and skills, and supports and advises parents on raising their children.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say junior college, vocational college (senmon gakko), or 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 work as a childcare worker you need the childcare worker (hoikushi) qualification. You can get it by graduating from a school or institution with an approved training course, or by passing the childcare worker exam. Most training courses run for two years or more at universities, tanki daigaku (junior colleges) or senmon gakko (vocational colleges), and some offer distance or evening study. The childcare worker exam is held twice a year in each prefecture. It is open to graduates of junior colleges and vocational colleges (including people who have spent two or more years at university and completed general education courses), and to people who have worked caring for children at a child welfare facility for five years or more (two years or more for high school graduates). A regional childcare worker exam, valid only in a set area, is also sometimes held separately from the usual exam. People with the childcare worker qualification can also work as children's centre staff at places such as children's halls, or as child life support staff at children's self-reliance support facilities. Childcare workers deal with many children, so you need to be reasonably fit. You need to like children, understand them, care about them and be responsible. You also need first aid knowledge and skills so you can act fast if something happens to a child. Young children often cannot yet say what they want, and you may be looking after several at once, so you need the patience to listen to each one and wait for them. You often work with other childcare workers, so communication skills are also needed.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Childcare Worker?

To work as a childcare worker you need the childcare worker (hoikushi) qualification. You can get it by graduating from a school or institution with an approved training course, or by passing the childcare worker exam. Most training courses run for two years or more at universities, tanki daigaku (junior colleges) or senmon gakko (vocational colleges), and some offer distance or evening study. The childcare worker exam is held twice a year in each prefecture. It is open to graduates of junior colleges and vocational colleges (including people who have spent two or more years at university and completed general education courses), and to people who have worked caring for children at a child welfare facility for five years or more (two years or more for high school graduates). A regional childcare worker exam, valid only in a set area, is also sometimes held separately from the usual exam. People with the childcare worker qualification can also work as children's centre staff at places such as children's halls, or as child life support staff at children's self-reliance support facilities. Childcare workers deal with many children, so you need to be reasonably fit. You need to like children, understand them, care about them and be responsible. You also need first aid knowledge and skills so you can act fast if something happens to a child. Young children often cannot yet say what they want, and you may be looking after several at once, so you need the patience to listen to each one and wait for them. You often work with other childcare workers, so communication skills are also needed.

How much does a Childcare Worker earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥4,276,300 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare).

Do you need a degree to become a Childcare Worker?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 17% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Education & Teaching degrees; Social Work & Community degrees; 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 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