The President and Representative Director of Parsol Thanks Co., Ltd.
Jun Nakamura

Persol Thanks Co., Ltd. is a special subsidiary of the PERSOL Group, a comprehensive human resource service, whose business purpose is to hire individuals with disabilities. Currently, the PERSOL Group has 132 group companies (*), and since its establishment in 1991, it has continued to expand the employment of individuals with disabilities along with the expansion of the group's business. With the group slogan of "Work, and Smile,” we are making efforts to create joy in working and purposeful living. (* As of November 1, 2021)

Employment of Individuals with Disabilities through Sericulture (silk production) -Finding “Specific Specialty” Employment for Individuals with Various Disabilities-

In 2017, Parsol Thanks established Tomioka Cocoon Studio in Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture. The Tomioka Cocoon Studio handles sericulture and the making of silk products. With the cooperation of local special needs schools, local welfare establishments, people involved in sericulture, and administrative agencies, there are now 48 (*) employees with Disability Certificate (henceforth referred to as members) and 17 (*) staff members who are engaged in sericulture and cocoon-related work. (* As of November 1, 2021)

In 2020, the production volume of cocoons of Tomioka Cocoon Studio was about 1 ton, and the production volume of Tomioka City as a whole was 6.4 tons, so about 15% were from our Tomioka Cocoon Studio.  Since the work of sericulture ranges from mulberry garden management to silkworm breeding, maintaining cleanliness, and maintenance of equipment, we can prepare a work area that fits the "specific specialty" of individuals with various disabilities. For those who like to physically move their bodies, these individuals can do outdoor work such as pruning mulberry branches and management of mulberry gardens. For those who like to work silently or who are dexterous with their hands can work in the manufacture of silk products. Anyway, these individuals are active with various jobs within sericulture in such a way as to be related to their “specific specialty".

"Why did we start the sericulture business?"-A business where individuals with disabilities can feel a sense of "Work, and Smile."

At the time of establishment, while the PERSOL Group continued to expand its business through M & A, the statutory employment rate (*) was gradually raised, and it was necessary to expand the employment of individuals with disabilities. On the other hand, especially in major companies in metropolitan areas such as Tokyo, there was an increase in the demand for individuals with disabilities because of an impact on the response to the statutory employment rate. However, it was limited depending on the type of job and person. 

Therefore, we wondered if it would be possible for companies, not only in big cities but also in rural areas to accept a wider range of disabilities. That was the beginning of the business.

(*According to the Act for Employment Promotion etc. of Persons with Disabilities, a certain percentage of the total number of employees is required to be individuals with disabilities. From March 2021, 2.3% for private sector companies)

We did not, however, proceed with the concept of the sericulture business in Tomioka City right from the beginning. Through various considerations, the "particularity" of Persol Thanks toward hiring individuals with disabilities is deeply linked to the establishment of Tomioka Cocoon Studio. This "particularity" is to create jobs where members can play an active role.

The origin of the name PERSOL is a coined word that combines the words PERSON, which means people and SOLUTION, which means solving social problems. This includes the idea that people grow through work and solve social problems. As a member of the PERSOL Group, we are thinking of a business that not only creates employment but also allows individuals with disabilities and people in the community to fully realize together the concept of “Work, and Smile,” and to think of ways to link this to solving problems in society.

At that time, I learned that transmitting the tradition of sericulture is on the verge of being lost in Tomioka City, where Tomioka Silk Mill is a World Heritage Site. In 1968, there were 3,010 households that did sericulture in Tomioka City, but at that time there were only 12 households remaining, and all of the people in those households engaged in sericulture were over 70 years old. The idea of connecting traditional Japanese sericulture to future generations by hiring individuals with disabilities grew, and although we had to start from scratch, I decided to take on the challenge.

The mission statement of Persol Thanks is to say THANK YOU in a tangible manner. I thought that if I could solve the various problems in the area, the local people would be grateful and say “thanks" and most likely support me. I also thought that if I could make it a job where individuals with disabilities were hired, it would lead to the joy in working and purposeful living for these people. These individuals grow up while feeling a sense of worth in their   lives and motivations to work by being needed and thanked. We continued to stick with making a situation and environment where people can work vigorously.

Development of “novelty items made with silk.” We will deliver our gratitude of “thank you” in a different form.

Tomioka Cocoon Studio is renting the former Myogi Kindergarten from Tomioka city. This kindergarten has been closed due to the declining birthrate. In Tomioka City, we have the first company to reuse idle facilities and develop an office in areas far from the city center. Beginning with Tomioka City, we have been supported by many people in the region and the employment of individuals with disabilities, which started with seven people at the time of establishment has steadily expanded. There were many difficulties in sericulture that I found out from the beginning, but with the cooperation of the people involved in the region, we were proceeding with the business by facing each issue one by one.

In 2020, our company produced bathing products and disinfectants, which were made by extracting and combining the protein components of our cocoons. With the collaboration of a local company, these products were commercialized by OEM Manufacturing. These novelty items were used as gifts showing gratitude toward our dispatched employees working in the PERSOL Group and customers of business partners. The disinfectant solution and bathing products containing silk components are said to be gentle on the skin and are quite favorable with dispatched employees, where there is a large proportion of women workers. The novelty items are utilized as a kind of gift with our gratitude saying “thank you for always working at Persol” when the person in charge of Persol visits our clients and meets our dispatched employees during work. In addition, when these novelty items are given to our clients and dispatched employees, a message card of gratitude is attached with the name of the president of the company. The printing, encapsulation and packaging of this card have also expanded to a job for individuals with disabilities, giving birth to an advantageous cycle. The employees are also involved in such processes as inspection and packaging of silk masks. They are also one of the novelty items of the PERSOL Group. Although unexpected demands were generated due to the corona sickness, the fact that it could be sold at the gift shop of Tomioka Thread Mill also contributes to the pride of the employees at Tomioka Cocoon Studio.

The “Win-Win-Win” Relationship Creates Smiles

With all of these efforts, we have cherished the Three Wins for everyone. The first Win is for Tomioka City and people associated with sericulture who found the sericulture leader they were looking for. The second Win is for those who were looking for a job and those who received employment opportunities from special needs schools and local labor supporters. The third Win is for our company who realized the employment of individuals with disabilities expected from the region. I think that Win-Win-Win will lead to smiles for the employees of Tomioka Cocoon Studio and the local people. It will become difficult to continue contributing to the main business if the purpose of hiring these individuals becomes just a matter of the number of people hired. When considering corporate social responsibility, how customers feel about this initiative is also a very important value judgment. Based on the PERSOL Group's slogan of "Work, and Smile,” we will continue to create new forms of employment for individuals with disabilities and create smiles for as many working people as possible.