Survey of 53,835 Working Men and Women Survey on Attitudes Toward Re-learning and MBAs among Working Adults ～One out of three respondents answered that "working adults study at graduate schools" ~.

Hirano Gakuen Educational Corporation (Location: Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture, President: Koji Hirano) conducted a "Survey on Attitudes toward Reskilling Education and MBA for Working Adults". The school aims to open the Graduate School of Environmental Management in April 2027 (application for approval of establishment pending).

According to this survey, it is noteworthy that a large number of working adults choose "graduate school" as a place to relearn. According to the awareness survey of 53,835 working adults nationwide, 32.5% of respondents chose "graduate school" as an educational institution for reskilling education, following 49.2% of those who chose "university" (Table and Figure 3). With the urgent need to develop the highly specialized human resources demanded by society and companies, graduate schools are increasing their presence as a central option for the next generation of relearning.

Outline of the Survey

Survey targets: Working men and women, aged 20-59, from all over Japan.

　　　　　　　(Monitors who answered "1) Public employee, 2) Company employee, 3) Self-employed, 4) Free trade" at the time of survey response.

　　　　　　　(3) Self-employed

Survey method】 Internet questionnaire survey

Number of respondents】 53,835 out of 696,596 responded.

Surveyed by: Preparatory Office for the Establishment of the Graduate School of Environmental Management, Hirano Gakuen Educational Corporation

Survey period] August 8, 2025 - August 15, 2025

Key Points of the Survey

The survey results show that nearly 30% of the respondents, 29.2% in total, are "somewhat interested" (20.1%) or "very interested" (9.1%) in reskilling, when asked if they are interested in reskilling, such as "would like to engage in it" (Table and Figure 1).

Also, adding those who answered "neither/unable to judge" (19.8%) to the above question, a total of 26,370 respondents answered that they were "somewhat interested" (23.2%) or "very interested" (11.5%) in obtaining an "MBA (Master of Business Administration)," while 34.7% of the respondents who answered "have already obtained an MBA" (2.2%) or "am very interested" (11.5%) were interested in obtaining an "MBA (Master of Business Administration)," and 34.7% of the respondents who answered "have already obtained an MBA (Master of Business Administration)" were "somewhat interested" or "very interested" in obtaining an "MBA (Master of Business Administration). When the number of respondents who answered "already have an MBA" (2.5%) was added, it was found that nearly 40% of the respondents were highly interested in an MBA as well. (Table and Figure 2)

When asked "What is the best educational institution for working professionals to study?", 32.5% of the respondents chose graduate school, indicating that one out of three respondents would like to go to graduate school as a place to relearn (Table and Figure 3). This "graduate school" includes professional graduate schools, followed by professional universities (17.4%) and vocational schools (17.6%), indicating that working adults are looking for a place to relearn, especially in specialized fields.

Are you interested in working on reskilling, etc.?

Table-1 "Are you interested in reskilling?

Figure-1 Interest in Riskiering

Are you interested in obtaining an MBA?

Table-2 "Are you interested in obtaining an MBA?"

Figure-2 Interest in MBA

About the place of study as a member of society. If you had to choose one institution for your education, which would it be?

Table-3 "Regarding the place of study as a working adult. If you had to choose one, which would it be?

Figure-3: Learning opportunities for working adults.

Demand for human resources with advanced expertise and practical skills is rapidly increasing not only in business, but also in the fields of environment, management, and solving social issues. Professional graduate schools are expanding their role as a place to bridge theory and practice and cultivate the ability to open up the future.

■The Strengths of the Professional Graduate School of Environmental Management (Approval Pending)

The "Graduate School of Environmental Management (pending approval)," which we aim to establish, has the following features.

Education that integrates the environment and management

Curriculum design that enables students to learn systematically how to face environmental issues seriously, to see them as business opportunities, and to conceive, implement, and execute management strategies.

Optimized learning design for working people

Classes are held on weekday evenings and weekends, and are offered in a high-flexible format, including online classes. We offer a flexible learning style that makes it easy for students to study while working.

Practitioner Faculty and Industry-Academia Collaboration】 About 60% of the faculty members are practitioners.

Approximately 60% of the faculty members are practitioners, and emphasis is placed on exercises and case studies that are directly related to solving problems at actual companies and local governments. The program is designed to prepare students for practical work immediately after completion of the program.

Future Prospects

The survey results, showing that one out of three working adults has chosen "graduate school study," indicate that a new era of learning has truly arrived. The "Graduate School of Environmental Management (pending approval)," which we are aiming to open, is also a new place of learning that will respond to such social needs.

On the other hand, many respondents answered that they are "not at all" (34.1%) or "somewhat uninterested" (16.9%) in reskilling, indicating that educational institutions, including our corporation, need to educate people about the importance of learning and create opportunities as their responsibility in the future.

Similarly, the same is true for interest in MBAs, with 19.0% saying they have "no interest at all" and 16.8% saying they have "somewhat no interest" in MBAs.

With the aim of opening the university, we will promote the development of next-generation human resources who will lead companies, governments, and local communities through an integrated and systematic curriculum of environmental and management studies. We will strive to become the "next step in relearning" for working people who wish to balance the environment and management.

Outline of the University

Hirano Gakuen Graduate School of Environmental Management Preparatory Office for Establishment (Application for approval of establishment of the Graduate University is pending for opening in April 2027)

Location: 38 Miya, Kamiishizu-cho, Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture (former site of Tara Elementary School, Ogaki City)

Preparatory Office: 65 Shimizu-cho, Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture

URL : https://necsus.jp/