We, especially the global business division, hire foreign engineers who want to work in Japan.
It does not matter if you are not fluent in Japanese at this time.

In fact, we interviewed an engineer Nik, who graduated from an American university and started working at APC this year.
Yoshizawa, who is learning English through “Language Exchange” with Nik, also gave us some comments about “Language Exchange” and working with foreign engineers.

I chose APC because the core fundamentals of the company inspire me.-Nikhil Chowdhury-

-May I ask you about your career before joining APC?

Before joining APC, I had recently graduated University and was interested in working in the IT field. I have had a few internships while in University that gave me experience in Business communication skills, SAP, and certain IT knowledge.

▲ from a bamboo forest in Kyoto before I decided to work in Japan.

-Why did you want to work in Japan?

I wanted to work in Japan to experience a different culture and country, and I have had interest in living here since University.

-Why did you choose APC?

I chose APC because the core fundamentals of the company inspire me to improve myself as an engineer, and further develop my IT skills and knowledge.

-What kind of work are you in charge of now?

I primarily work in automation coding, with other tasks including Language Exchange and an English learning program named “H.O.L.C”.

-What do you enjoy about your work? What is rewarding about your job?

In my work, I enjoy learning new things every day and overcoming challenges. It is rewarding when a task or project is completed and the results are successful.

▲Group photo at the team training camp.

-How do you communicate with your Japanese colleagues, especially those who can’t speak English?

I try to use Japanese to the best of my abilities for my colleagues that can’t speak English well. My Japanese level has improved significantly from being immersed in Japanese listening and reading while working on projects and assignments.

-How do you learn Japanese? Please explain about “Language Exchange”.

I learn Japanese primarily through self-study and taking online classes. However, Language Exchange has helped me further improve my Japanese and develop certain skill sets. Language Exchange is a collaborative form of communication in which people of different native languages can communicate with each other in their respective languages. This allows a more broad understanding in how each language is communicated and improves ability to understand each other’s languages.

-How do you spend your time off?

I spend my time-off studying Japanese, hanging out with friends, traveling, cycling, or going to the gym!
The top image is me cycling near Kamogawa in Kyoto.

-Is APC a good company to work for you? Please tell me why.

APC is a great company to work for many reasons. APC has assisted me in the transition from America to Japan and helped with finding housing as well as any introductory requirements when moving to Japan. They also have resources and support for achieving certifications and improving skill sets.

▲Me cycling near Kamogawa

-What kind of people do you want to recommend to work at APC? Please tell me why.

The people I would recommend to work at APC are the individuals who desire a change in their current life and workplace. This could give an opportunity to improve one’s knowledge and skill set, all while living in a new country, meeting new people, and experiencing the Japanese culture. This can be a valuable experience for many people as it has been for me, so I would highly recommend working at APC.

I would be happy if more foreigners join our team.-Nobuhiro Yoshizawa-

I am on a different team from Nik, but I have heard a lot about his hard work and ambitious work style from my team members. I really admire his energy and drive to come and work in a country where he doesn’t speak the language right after graduating from university.

Nik and I have been doing Language Exchange to improve our second language skills. We have Language Exchange time about twice a week, and we talk about every day topics that can challenge us even if we don’t understand the other person’s language. We try to choose light topics that are not related to work, such as recent events, our countries, and hobbies.
We usually use tools such as video conferencing, chat to communicate with each other in Language Exchange. Our chat tool has a multi-language translation function that automatically translates English into Japanese and Japanese into English so that we can check if the grammar is correct. We use it not only for Language Exchange time, but also for reading and writing in our private time.

Learning pronunciation from native speakers is a great benefit for both parties, and most importantly, it is very interesting to learn while teaching others.
Thanks to this Language Exchange, I was not only able to learn about his country, but I also had the opportunity to rethink about my own country’s culture and my own country’s language in communicating with him.

I think this experience will be very useful in the future and I would recommend Language Exchange to other Japanese employees in our company.
The more foreigners like Nik who want to work in Japan, the more opportunities we have to learn, so I would be happy if more foreigners join our team.

Should you join us, please don’t hesitate to contact us!