The First Report from the Front Line of the OJT

In most companies in Japan, April is the month that many new graduates join the company. This also applies to HENNGE, our company.

I joined HENNGE in April last year, which means a year has passed since then. At this milestone time, I was assigned to be in charge of the on-the-job training (OJT) for new graduates in our section.

As you know, teaching something to others is not easy. This is because teaching something that can’t be practiced just by knowing it is difficult.

I believe that there is no such thing as OJT trainers being right or having enough knowledge for everything during OJT. I believe that the most important thing is for OJT trainers and trainees to deepen their learning together and make it worthwhile for both parties.

In sociology and anthropology, which I studied in graduate school, there is a concept called “reflexivity.”

For example, even if a researcher enters a social group or community as a fieldwork researcher, it is hard for the researcher to maintain the behavior and position as an outsider forever. Since these are not laboratories, it is difficult to resist changes in socially formed relationships.

As in this example, while I take on the educator role, I also want to learn from them and aim for successful OJT through this recursive relationship.

In addition to that, the feelings and perceptions felt by those who are not familiar with a certain field are often more insightful than those felt by those who are familiar with that field. I believe many engineers who engaged in Microsoft products know that Azure Active Directory (Microsoft Entra ID), and Active Directory have similar names but their roles are very different. When I was a new graduate, I was totally confused about this difference and relationship. “Is cloud version’s Active Directory, Azure Active Directory?” etc.

But, as you get used to the environment and customs, you will lose those simple doubts, and you will no longer be worried or confused about them. This is both a good thing and a pretty bad thing at the same time because simplicity can sometimes be a weapon.

Every time I was asked simple and essential questions by new graduates, I couldn’t help but think that I had never noticed that perspective. They are all extremely talented, and while they are asking me such fundamental questions, at the same time they are self-sustaining and have already taken a new step forward without me even realizing it.

When I think back to my own time as a new graduate, I can’t help but wonder if I was as talented and self-motivated as them. While I reserve the answer as to whether I was, there are many things we can learn from their attitude.

In any case, it is not an easy thing to teach or guide people. I plan to continue posting updates in the future.