I currently live in Canada and have a red seal ticket in carpentry and joinery/millwork, as well as experience programming CNC and drafting. My wife (native Japanese) and I plan to move to Japan in the next few years. My Japanese is not great, not enough for full conversation.
Any insight on finding a job in this field that does not require Japanese language? I know of some people that worked as carpenters back in the 80s-90s without knowing Japanese.
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**Carpenter / Joiner**
I currently live in Canada and have a red seal ticket in carpentry and joinery/millwork, as well as experience programming CNC and drafting. My wife (native Japanese) and I plan to move to Japan in the next few years. My Japanese is not great, not enough for full conversation.
Any insight on finding a job in this field that does not require Japanese language? I know of some people that worked as carpenters back in the 80s-90s without knowing Japanese.
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>My wife (native Japanese) and I plan to move to Japan in the next few years.
So, good news: Because you’ll be on a spouse visa you’re one of the very few people who come through here looking to move to Japan with a trade who actually has a chance!
Bad news…
>My Japanese is not great, not enough for full conversation.
That’s going to be a *major* handicap.
While you might be able to get some grunt labor jobs, you’re not going to be able to make full use of your skills and experience until you get your Japanese up to par.
Think about the level of technical language you use in your field now. Do you think someone who barely speaks English (Or I guess maybe French, since Canada) would be able to succeed? Right now that’s your situation vis a vis Japan.
You need to be able to communicate with clients/coworkers.
Step one is working ***hard*** on your Japanese between now and when you move.
Something else to consider would be trying to beg/borrow/bribe your way into an apprenticeship once you move. This would have a few huge benefits:
1. You’d be exposed to “practical” Japanese, the sort of language that will be relevant to your job.
2. You’ll be exposed to Japanese ways of doing things
3. If you pick the right apprenticeship you’ll learn about Japanese joinery which, as you’re probably already aware, is pretty wild.