Fluent in Nihongo? Here's How You Can Leverage Your Multilingual Skills to Build a Career 

With the majority of Filipinos being able to converse in various dialects in daily lives, it isn’t a surprise that Filipinos are able to quickly learn foreign languages. Nihongo is probably one of the most popular languages Filipinos are interested in learning for business and tourism.

While most people consider learning a new language more of a hobby or interest, only a few people realize that it can help open opportunities to build one’s professional career. Accenture in the Philippines, for example, has on-going programs that cultivate Filipino talent’s natural multilingual edge for professional development and career advancement.

Accenture in the Philippines’ managing director, Mannix Evangelista, is leading one of the company’s dynamic business groups that supports Japanese projects. Read on further as he shares more about how you can turn your passion for Nihongo into opportunities for career growth at Accenture in the Philippines.

The Japanese Language Program

In order to aptly address specific needs of Japanese projects, Accenture in the Philippines developed a Japanese language learning program that utilizes a more natural way to learn Nihongo by pairing up learners with native Japanese speakers. The language buddy program allows for a more holistic style of learning. “Learning Nihongo goes beyond grammar, the meaning of words, and the alphabet, it is also about learning the culture and the behavior of the Japanese,” shares Evangelista.

Opportunities to work in Japan

To date, the Japanese Language program has been able to develop hundreds of bilinguals working on the company’s Japanese clientele. To further the employees’ immersion-based learning system, the program includes work-exchange programs in Japan to enhance their language proficiency on-the-job. Through the program, employees can interact with Japanese clients face-to-face and learn the work culture of Japan firsthand.

Language certification

Accenture in the Philippines has also put in place a language certification program as part of the language training program. Evangelista himself is a product of said program. His language skills earned him a Certificate of Proficiency equal to JLPT N5 by passing the Japanese NAT-TEST (Nihongo Achievement Test) just this 2022.

Accenture in the Philippines remains committed to equipping its people with the necessary skills, knowledge and acumen in order to deliver innovative solutions to address business needs of clients.

Get a deeper understanding of Japanese culture

Being a company that prides itself in having a very diverse workforce, it is also equally important for them to be able to “create a work environment where everyone enjoys the complete experience of feeling connected, of being included, and knowing that they belong,” shares Evangelista.

The company itself has invested in programs that help maintain this culture of inclusion by holding regular cultural awareness and appreciate activities. These programs were put in not just to cater to clients but also provide an experience for people in the company to be able to widen their perspectives on different cultures especially Japanese.

Endless opportunities for growth in a world-class company

Accenture prides itself as a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud, and security. They are able to equip their people with world-class tools and resources to be able to serve global clients from different industries. For example, they can get familiar with the standard processes and approval workflows for companies in the health industry or acquire industry knowledge about quality assurance in the finance industry.

If the aforementioned opportunities sound appealing to you or you just want to make use of your passion for Nihongo in a professional setting, you’ll be glad to know that Accenture in the Philippines is currently hiring Japanese bilinguals at all levels to cater to their growing Japanese clientele. Grow with the company.

To learn more about the opportunities at Accenture in the Philippines click here.