Passing Down the Importance of MONOZUKURI (Craftsmanship) All Toyota Boshoku Skills Competition

Why “Passing Down MONOZUKURI” Matters Now

The automotive industry is undergoing a rapid transformation with the emergence of new domains, such as CASE and MaaS.
Even in this era of change, producing high-quality vehicles requires a workforce with advanced skills. For a company to continue delivering advanced technologies and products to society, continuous skill development, mutual learning, and employee training are indispensable.
Here in this article, we will introduce one of Toyota Boshoku’s human resource development initiatives and its approach to preserving craftsmanship.

Hosting the Skills Competition

Toyota Boshoku has hosted the “All Toyota Boshoku Skills Competition” annually since 2006. This event provides an important platform to pass down the value of MONOZUKURI and offers employees with opportunities to develop advanced skills.
Today, Toyota Boshoku employees, as well as those from affiliated companies and overseas locations, participate as competitors or spectators, creating global opportunities to compete and learn.

The competition aims to:

• Push participants to give their best and compete with pride, and improve their skills and capabilities.
• Foster a workplace culture of teaching and learning, passing down skills from supervisors and senior employees to the next generation
• Mutually confirm skill levels across the Toyota Boshoku Group

Since its inception in 2006, the number of job categories has nearly doubled. Starting in 2010, overseas participants began joining, which significantly increased the number of competitors.

As of 2025, the competition features thirteen categories:
Cover manufacturing, Sewing machine maintenance, Robot maintenance, Press die finishing, Trim assembly, Machining finish Koma taisen (spinning top fighting and time trial), Crane (written exam and operation), Welding, Equipment maintenance (troubleshooting and repairs), Seat assembly, Inspection (standard measurement and defect detection), Forklift (inspection/troubleshooting and operation), Karakuri (mechanical improvement)

About “Karakuri”: The focus is on building efficient production lines with an emphasis on Karakuri improvement.

Once selected, competitors refine their skills at their respective sites to deliver their best performance during the event.

On competition day, participants present their results, which are evaluated and ranked.
Expert representatives from each plant select tasks and serve as judges to ensure fairness and　promote skill advancement.

Employees cheer for their colleagues, and the event fosters interaction among employees from different regions. This creates new insights and connections.

Voices of Participants

Expanding Skill Development

Skill development is not limited to competitors. Achievements from the competition are displayed for everyone to see, enabling employees to learn from both familiar and unfamiliar fields.

Ranked results are also analyzed to determine which factors influenced performance.
This environment broadens the circle of learning and aims to maintain high skill levels in domestic and international workplaces.

The Future of the Skills Competition

In 2023, we introduced a “Hall of Fame” system to honor employees who achieve first place in the same category for three consecutive years.

The first Hall of Fame inductee will be announced in 2025. This achievement will be a testament to their continuous skill improvement and will establish them as a role model for others.
As automation and robotics advance, MONOZUKURI may evolve, however these technologies can only be fully utilized by employees with strong foundational skills.
Toyota Boshoku will continue to value and promote skill development.