Designing 'Touchpoints' Between Local Businesses and High School Students - Project to Create Relational Population Through Education Begins in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture

Future Link Network Inc. (Headquarters: Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture, CEO: Takeharu Ishii, hereinafter referred to as FLN), which promotes the creation of relational populations, will launch a project in collaboration with Thanks Home Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Thanks Home), a housing company in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture. The project aims to create a relational population by forming connections between local companies and human resources, including young people from outside the region. This project will create an entry point to experience the appeal of local companies and the reality of their operations by designing opportunities for online company understanding and interaction. First, on March 13, 2026 (Friday), a "Local Work 'Honest' Salon (Thanks Home Edition)" will be held together with Thanks Home. Subsequently, on March 24 (Tuesday), Thanks Home was a guest speaker in an online event for students of Kadowaka Wango Gakuen N High School, S High School, and R High School (hereinafter referred to as N High Group). 1. Background While regional companies face challenges in securing human resources and fostering the next generation, young people from outside the region often have limited opportunities to experience the realities of regional work and companies. FLN designs and operates initiatives that create touchpoints between regions and external human resources, promoting efforts that lead to the creation of relational populations. In this project, we will deliver "life-sized information" about the actual operations and values of regional companies, creating an entry point that connects the region with people from outside the region. 2. Project Details FLN and Thanks Home will design opportunities for encounters and increased understanding between regional companies and external human resources through multiple contact point menus, including educational touchpoints. Specifically, we will offer opportunities such as the online event "Local Work 'Honest' Salon," which conveys the reality of people working and companies in the region in their own words, allowing participants to experience the company's philosophy and on-site challenges. As part of this initiative, FLN supported Thanks Home's guest appearance in an online event for N High Group students, connecting the touchpoints after the Honest Salon to the next step. 3. Expected Effects For regional companies, it is expected that interaction with young people will promote understanding of the company and foster future relationships. For participants, experiencing the realities of regional companies and the background of their decision-making will provide material for considering their own learning and career choices. FLN will promote efforts to create relational populations by designing opportunities to experience the on-site challenges of regional companies and expanding the entry points for interaction between the region and external human resources. 4. Future Outlook This project will begin by gradually designing and implementing opportunities for creating touchpoints, promoting deeper mutual understanding between regional companies and external human resources. In the future, we plan to expand the network of collaborating educational institutions, consider increasing the number of participating companies and contact point menus, and develop this into a continuous mechanism that connects education and the region. ▽About the 8th "Local Work 'Honest' Salon" The "Local Work 'Honest' Salon" is an online event that conveys the reality of people working and companies in the region in their own words. It aims to alleviate the anxiety that often arises when considering relocation or career change, such as "lack of information" or "inability to hear honest opinions," by focusing on the "people" and "work" of the region to create opportunities for encounters and engagement with the region. The 8th session was held with Thanks Home, a housing company that has been in business for 30 years in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, under the theme of "To a Company Supporting Lifestyles: The Future of Housing Companies and the Region."