Hello Training in Tokyo, January to March 2027: Free Public Job Training, Deadlines from November 13

This page is general information. Whether you can join a course, and whether you can receive a benefit, depends on your own situation, so ask the Hello Work (public employment service) office that covers your address.

Hello Training (public vocational training) starting in Tokyo from January to March 2027 has 3 entry points: the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s commissioned training at private schools, training at the Tokyo Metropolitan Polytechnic Centers, and the national job seeker support training. The earliest deadline is November 13 (Friday) for the commissioned training starting on January 4 (22 courses), and you apply at the Hello Work office that covers where you live. For the Polytechnic Centers’ January entry (15 subjects), applications close on November 19 (Thursday), and for the job seeker support training starting in January, applications are taken from December 3 to December 17.

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1. Deadlines for Hello Training in Tokyo starting January to March 2027

The deadlines for training that starts in January are November 13 (commissioned training) and November 19 (Polytechnic Centers). Training that starts in February and March is in the table below, in order of deadline.

“*planned” marks dates that the Metropolitan Government lists as “planned,” and they may change. The selection method and dates for the February and March intakes of the commissioned training will be announced around when the call for applicants comes out (the “—” in the table). The job seeker support training dates are from the Tokyo Labor Bureau’s annual schedule, which also says they may change.

Source: the Polytechnic Centers’ application guide and the schedule of upcoming private commissioned training on TOKYO Hataraku Net (Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs), and the Tokyo Labor Bureau’s job seeker support training schedule (checked November 10, 2026)

2. Differences between the commissioned training, the Polytechnic Centers and the job seeker support training

All 3 have no tuition fee, and what you pay yourself is textbooks and similar costs. What differs is where you study, the fields, and who runs the training.

The commissioned training and the Polytechnic Centers are the Metropolitan Government’s public vocational training. The commissioned training is for people who have registered for a job search at Hello Work and can receive a training instruction, recommendation or support instruction. The Polytechnic Centers are for people looking for work or wanting to change jobs. The job seeker support training is a national system, in which people who cannot receive employment insurance can study while receiving a benefit of ¥100,000 a month if they meet certain conditions.

You cannot apply to the commissioned training or the Polytechnic Centers at the same time as other public vocational training (apply to several at once), and the Polytechnic Centers cannot be combined with the job seeker support training either. In both, as a rule, people who took public vocational training or a practical course of the job seeker support training within 1 year going back from the start date are excluded.

3. The January intake of the commissioned training has 22 courses, at Hello Work until November 13

The January intake of the commissioned training has 22 courses: 4 six-month courses, 16 three-month courses and 2 four-month short-hours courses, and the training starts on January 4, 2027 (Monday). The 6-month courses run until June 30, the 3-month courses until March 30 and the 4-month courses until April 30. Classes are held every day except weekends and holidays, as a rule.

Besides the textbook cost, courses with “online” in the name incur a communication cost, and you need a home computer, an internet connection and apps such as Zoom. The course for care worker initial training and nursing care insurance administration also requires you to join a vocational trainee comprehensive insurance (¥3,100 for 3 months). “Short hours” courses are training with fewer training hours a month so that it is easier to combine with childcare or caregiving. They are for people with circumstances such as childcare or caregiving (including job seekers who are employed), and in selection, people with those circumstances are given priority.

To apply, you submit an application form and a return envelope (long size 3, with a ¥110 stamp) yourself at the Hello Work office for your address. You cannot apply by mail. Attach a photo (3.0 cm tall by 2.4 cm wide) to the application form. Before applying, you need several consultations at Hello Work.

Selection for the 6-month courses is based on documents and an interview. After applying at Hello Work, you book an interview with the training facility by phone by November 16 (Monday), and send a copy of the accepted application form to the facility by simple registered mail to arrive by November 18 (Wednesday). If any of the interview booking, the mailed copy or the interview is missing, it is treated as withdrawing the application. Applicants for the 3-month and 4-month courses are selected by documents only, and you can also write a second choice (a 6-month course cannot be chosen as the second choice).

Results arrive by mail from December 9 (Wednesday). A course may be canceled if applicants do not reach the number of places.

The 22 courses of the February intake (starting February 1) are planned to take applicants from November 30 to December 11. They include Java Programmer Training, Accounting Office Work (Yaesu), Initial Training for Care Workers (Hongo-sanchome) and Career Counselor Training. Vocational training at private educational institutions (TOKYO Hataraku Net), guide to the January 2027 intake (PDF) and upcoming recruitment schedule for commissioned training (all Japanese)

4. The Polytechnic Centers’ January entry has 15 subjects, until November 19

The Tokyo Metropolitan Polytechnic Centers’ January 2027 entry takes applications until November 19 (Thursday), with a written test and interview on November 27 (Friday), results announced on December 4 (Friday) and entry on January 7 (Thursday). Selection starts at 9:15 a.m., with reception from 8:45 a.m. The written test is Japanese and mathematics, at the level of completed compulsory education.

The ratios are those of the general call for applicants for the July 2026 intake for IoT Creator, Interior Finishing and Building Maintenance Technology, and the October 2026 intake for the others. IoT Creator is for people roughly 30 or younger (as a rule 35 or younger on the entry date). The 3 subjects “for older people” are for people roughly 50 or older (as a rule 45 or older on the entry date). Training hours are from 9:05 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., with weekends and holidays off. The 6-month subjects finish on June 25 (Friday) and the 3-month subjects on March 25 (Thursday).

You apply in person at the Hello Work office for your address or at each center (school). Applications are not accepted by mail. The entry application form is handed out at Hello Work and each center, and a photo (3 cm tall by 2.4 cm wide) is needed. Reception is on weekdays from 8:30 to 17:15, and at Shinjuku Wakamono Hello Work from 10:00 to 18:00 on weekdays.

If you fall under any of (1) people eligible for employment insurance, (2) people with disabilities, (3) single mothers and similar, or (4) people who meet the requirements of the vocational training benefit of the job seeker support system, you must first consult the Hello Work office for your address before applying. For the January entry, 12 subjects other than those for older people have a priority quota for single mothers and similar (excluding those eligible for employment insurance). Tuition and the entry selection fee are free, and you pay for textbooks yourself. Some subjects also have costs such as work clothes.

The February entry is planned to take applications from December 1 to December 24 (selection on January 8), and the April entry from January 7 to January 29, 2027.

Play on YouTube

Polytechnic Centers application guide (TOKYO Hataraku Net) and leaflet for the January 2027 entry (PDF) (both Japanese)

5. The job seeker support training for January takes applications from December 3 to 17

The Tokyo Labor Bureau’s job seeker support training for the course starting on January 26 (Tuesday) is accepted at Hello Work from December 3 (Thursday) to December 17 (Thursday). The course starting on February 19 (Friday) is from December 28 (Monday) to January 18 (Monday), and the course starting on March 24 (Wednesday) is from February 2 (Tuesday) to February 17 (Wednesday).

The list of courses appears on the Tokyo Labor Bureau’s page “Job seeker support training: courses being recruited and planned” around when applications open. For December starts, the courses listed included Esthetics and Aromatherapist Training, Website Production, Graphic Design, Care Worker Initial Training and Nails. The job seeker support training has “basic courses,” which teach the basics needed for employment, and “practical courses,” which teach practical skills.

According to the Tokyo Labor Bureau, more than half of applicants come to Hello Work on the last day and the day before the end of the reception period. Several consultations are needed beforehand, and without them you may not be accepted on the day of the deadline. A course may also be canceled for reasons such as applications falling below half of the number of places.

Play on YouTube

Job seeker support training: courses being recruited and planned (Tokyo Labor Bureau) and FY2026 job seeker support training schedule (PDF) (both Japanese)

6. Allowances during training and the conditions for the vocational training benefit

People who can receive employment insurance and take training on the instruction of the Hello Work director receive an attendance allowance and a commuting allowance during training, in addition to the basic allowance (unemployment benefit). The attendance allowance is ¥500 a day (up to ¥20,000), and the commuting allowance changes with how you commute (up to ¥42,500 a month). Even if the number of days of the basic allowance runs out midway through the training, the basic allowance continues until the day the training ends. The training instruction is given, as a rule, while a certain number or more of benefit days remain.

People who cannot receive employment insurance take training on the support instruction of Hello Work, and if they meet all of the following conditions, they can receive the vocational training benefit (¥100,000 a month) and the commuting allowance. The Polytechnic Centers and the commissioned training can also be eligible for this benefit, like the job seeker support training.

• Your own income is ¥80,000 a month or less, and the income of the whole household is ¥300,000 a month or less.
• The financial assets of the whole household are ¥3,000,000 or less, and you own no land or buildings other than where you live.
• You attend on every training day (even when you are absent for unavoidable reasons, you need an attendance rate of 80% or more).
• No one else in your household is receiving this benefit and taking training at the same time.
• You have not received a specified benefit through fraud within the past 3 years.
• If you have received this benefit before, 6 or more years have passed since the last time (if you go from a basic course of the job seeker support training on to a practical course or public vocational training, you may be eligible even within 6 years).
• From during training until after completion, you receive job counseling at Hello Work on the days set.

If your own income is ¥120,000 a month or less and the household income is ¥340,000 a month or less, you can receive just the commuting allowance if you meet the other conditions, even if you do not meet the income conditions. Besides the benefit, the job seeker support loan of the Rokin (labor bank) is also available. The limit is ¥100,000 a month for people with a spouse or others living with them or sharing their living costs, and ¥50,000 a month for others, with no exemption from repayment.

People who receive the benefit while taking a Metropolitan training receive job counseling at Hello Work on set days every month, from during the training until 3 months after completion. If you are absent without a valid reason or refuse Hello Work’s job-finding support, the benefit stops.

Allowances during training (Tokyo Labor Bureau), support provided by Hello Training (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) and basic allowance, attendance allowance and commuting allowance (Hello Work Internet Service) (all Japanese)

7. Things to know when applying in Tokyo

The window where you apply is the Hello Work office that covers your address, and in the list in the Metropolitan leaflet, 17 offices, including Iidabashi, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Tachikawa and Machida, cover areas by ward, city, town and village. Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Ome and Machida have two or more buildings, and the window differs by age and by general, disabled or new-graduate jobseekers. Because where you go is decided by the ward, city, town or village where you live, check the list in the Metropolitan leaflet or ask Hello Work.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Polytechnic Centers are divided into 4 centers: Chuo-Johoku (Bunkyo Ward), Jonan (Shinagawa Ward), Joto (Adachi Ward) and Tama (Akishima City), and schools such as the Shigoto Center School (Chiyoda Ward), Ota, Edogawa, Fuchu, Hachioji and the School for Older People (Shinjuku Ward). Even subjects with the same name can differ by school in who they are for (Electrical Equipment Management is for general applicants at the Joto Center and for older people at Hachioji), and you can apply to only 1 subject at 1 school.

Many of the commissioned training schools are near stations in central Tokyo such as Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Ochanomizu and Suidobashi, and in the Tama area there are classrooms in Tachikawa, Fuchu and Kichijoji. The courses with a childcare service in the January intake are 2 courses in Kichijoji.

Sources

11 pages we checkedShow

• TOKYO Hataraku Net: Tokyo Metropolitan Polytechnic Centers application guide
• TOKYO Hataraku Net: leaflet for the January 2027 entry at the Polytechnic Centers (PDF)
• TOKYO Hataraku Net: vocational training at private educational institutions
• TOKYO Hataraku Net: guide to the January 2027 intake of the commissioned training (PDF)
• TOKYO Hataraku Net: upcoming recruitment schedule for commissioned training
• Tokyo Labor Bureau: job seeker support training, courses being recruited and planned
• Tokyo Labor Bureau: FY2026 job seeker support training schedule (PDF)
• Tokyo Labor Bureau: allowances during training
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: support provided by Hello Training
• Hello Work Internet Service: about the basic allowance
• Japanese version of this page (日本語版)

Checked with official pages on November 10, 2026 (Japan time).