SMS Launches "Barrier-Free" Corporate Support Service for Disability Employment

SMS Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Masaki Takahata; TSE Prime; hereinafter "the Company") announces the launch of its "Corporate Support Service for Disability Employment" under its "Kabe-nashi" brand, which supports the disability welfare domain. This service aims to provide comprehensive support for companies in their disability employment initiatives.

This service integrates multiple services designed to support corporate disability employment, offering tailored solutions and accompanying support through in-depth client consultations.

Looking ahead to the statutory employment rate increase to 2.7% in July 2026 and beyond, the Company will contribute to solving the challenges faced by companies engaging in disability employment by offering services such as "in-house support," leveraging the practical knowledge cultivated during the establishment and expansion of its own disability employment organization.

URL: https://hr.kabe-nashi.jp/

■ Social Background: Companies Face Increased Difficulty in Responding to the Statutory Employment Rate Hike in July 2026

Due to the declining working-age population resulting from an aging society and a declining birthrate, opportunities for diverse talent to thrive are increasing.

Employment of persons with disabilities by companies has reached record highs (※1), and the statutory employment rate for persons with disabilities in private companies will be raised from 2.5% to 2.7% in July 2026. While the demand for companies to achieve their statutory employment rates is growing, only 46.0% of companies currently meet this requirement (※2). The increase in the statutory employment rate may cause companies that currently meet the target to fall short, further intensifying the pressure on businesses. Additionally, the "quality" of disability employment, including the provision of reasonable accommodations and the realization of employees' abilities and retention, is increasingly being scrutinized, necessitating a consistent approach from recruitment to retention. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also emphasizes the need for employment structures that allow persons with disabilities to participate in and demonstrate their abilities in a company's business activities, based on discussions regarding the future of disability employment. Specifically, improving the "quality" of disability employment through job selection, matching with disability characteristics, and performance evaluation is a key issue (※3).

On the other hand, HR personnel responsible for disability employment in companies are often not dedicated solely to this role and struggle to allocate sufficient resources. Furthermore, the lack of widespread success stories and knowledge makes it difficult for many companies to design a disability employment organization that suits their specific needs.

■ Service Overview: Focusing on "In-house Support" to Provide End-to-End Assistance from Job Carving to Workforce Integration

The "Kabe-nashi Corporate Support Service for Disability Employment" includes four core solutions: "Kabe-nashi Consulting" for job carving and organizational design support; "Kabe-nashi Job Navigator," a specialized recruitment service for matching individuals with disabilities; "Kabe-nashi Training Room," an e-learning system for recipient organizations to deepen their understanding of disability employment; and "Kabe-nashi Consultation Room," providing retention support by medical professionals.

Kabe-nashi Consulting

A consulting service aimed at implementing and designing disability employment tailored to each company. Based on the company's knowledge of over 400 types of job carving examples, it involves interviews to formulate job and organizational designs.

Kabe-nashi Job Navigator

A specialized recruitment service for disability employment.

It designs "ideal candidate profiles" tailored to each company's job content and introduces suitable candidates.

Kabe-nashi Training Room

Provides an e-learning system for recipient organization staff to enhance their understanding of disability employment.

Kabe-nashi Consultation Room

A post-hiring retention support program. Certified professionals from our company conduct continuous interviews with both the individual with a disability and the HR manager to prevent mismatches and detect changes in condition early.

To date, through our specialized recruitment service for individuals with disabilities, "Kabe-nashi Job Navigator," we have supported the disability employment of over 240 companies. Through providing this service and conducting client interviews, we recognized the need for comprehensive support not only in recruitment but also in establishing systems prior to hiring and ensuring retention and workforce integration post-hire. Consequently, we have developed services for each phase of disability employment.

Furthermore, in 2018, we established a disability employment organization to handle internal company tasks, thereby verifying the potential of disability employment within our own operations. In 2020, we began focusing intensively on in-house disability employment, developing an internal employment structure that allows individuals with disabilities to build careers while contributing to the business. Currently, our disability employment organization, "Shared Services Group," has expanded to approximately 90 members, with about 90% of them being individuals with mental or developmental disabilities.

The key feature of this service is our ability to accompany companies in establishing and expanding their disability employment organizations, leveraging the knowledge gained from our in-house employment initiatives to balance "promoting internal employment" with "developing the organization into a productive workforce."

■ Future Outlook: Aiming to Pioneer and Create a New Market for "In-house Support" for Disability Employment

Through this service, by supporting the disability employment of numerous companies, we aim to become a pioneer in developing and leading a new market for "in-house support" for disability employment. Beyond simply helping companies achieve their employment quotas, we strive to create an environment for "high-quality disability employment" where individuals with disabilities can develop their skills under appropriate evaluation and continue to thrive with peace of mind. Furthermore, through the "Kabe-nashi" business activities, we aim to contribute to improving the well-being of individuals facing difficulties due to disabilities.

■ Comments from Business Leaders

Kohei Onuki, Group Manager, Disability Employment Support Group, Disability Welfare Support Department, Well-being Support Business Division

Currently, there are over 11.64 million people with disabilities in Japan (※4), with a notable increase in individuals with mental and developmental disabilities. With the upcoming legal amendment in July 2026 to raise the statutory employment rate, many companies are facing unprecedented pressure.

While hiring numbers have been increasing in recent years, we have received many earnest voices from the employment front expressing concerns such as "our acceptance systems cannot keep up," "we cannot effectively carve out suitable tasks," and "we can hire, but face challenges with retention."

In fact, these are precisely the hurdles we encountered and grappled with repeatedly after establishing our internal disability employment organization (currently Shared Services Group). We have accumulated know-how in internalizing our environment and nurturing employees into valuable contributors to our business by overcoming numerous failures.

We want to deliver a practical approach, a "how-to-overcome-this" guide, to companies struggling with the same issues we once faced. Driven by this strong desire, we have launched the four "Kabe-nashi" services that provide total support from organizational setup to workforce integration, going beyond traditional recruitment assistance. By accompanying companies in "promoting internal employment" and "developing their organizations into productive workforces," and by solving challenges for as many companies as possible, we aim to contribute to our mission of "improving the well-being of individuals facing difficulties due to disabilities."

※1, 2: From the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "Collection of Results of Employment Status of Persons with Disabilities for Reiwa 7 (2025)"
(https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_67490.html)

※3: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "13th Meeting on the Future of the Employment Promotion System for Persons with Disabilities"