Investment in Human Capital for Growth and Productivity Improvement
Basic Policy on Human Resource Development
The Sapporo Group believes that human capital is the source of all value creation and aims to drive the enhancement of corporate value through the growth of human resources. The Group is promoting diversity, developing management human resources, and actively investing in human capital to achieve speedy growth, including digital transformation (DX) and global growth. We are also promoting group-wide efforts so that each of us can maximize our individual strengths and develop our careers independently. We aim to be a company where diverse human resources working in the Sapporo Group are healthy in mind and body, can take on challenges and cross borders into new areas, and create new values one after another with energetic, bright, and positive energy. To this end, we are working to improve our internal environment.
Human Resource Training Program
To achieve "growth in overseas business" and "improvement of profitability in core businesses" as targeted in the Medium-term Management Plan, we have identified management, global, and DX/IT as the three areas in which we will invest intensively and rapidly. To this end, we have positioned the securing and development of human resources as a key issue.
Management Human Resources Development
Sapporo Holdings aims to secure sufficient management human resources through the Sapporo Group Succession Plan, and is systematically developing them at each Group company.
At Sapporo Breweries, we are promoting the advancement of management human resources through the succession plan to enhance the effectiveness of the mid- to long-term growth strategy.
Establishment of Optimal Management Structure through Multiple Lines of Appointment, Flexible Selection and Dismissal, and Increased Proactive Investment
Global Core Human Resources
To secure 100 employees as global core human resources, which is one of the KPIs, Sapporo Holdings is working on human resource development by defining the requirements and establishing training, placement, and education plans.
Sapporo Group Global Human Resource Development Plan
DX/IT Human Resource Development Program promotes "All Employees as DX Human Resources"
As part of our efforts to develop and secure human resources, one of our DX business environment development initiatives, we have launched the "DX/IT Human Resource Development Program" starting in 2022.
Group Human Resources Development Initiatives
| Category | Programs | 2024 | 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persons | Hours | Persons | Hours | ||
| Management human resources development | LDP (Leadership Development Program) | 8 | 396 | 8 | 776 |
| Dispatch to various external training programs | 33 | 1,169 | 33 | 1,245 | |
| Global human resources development | Global leadership talent development measures | 16 | 1,004 | 16 | 1,032 |
| Training upon transfer to new roles | Training upon transfer to new roles | 331 | 3,273 | 207 | 1,320 |
| Training for new employees | New graduate employee training | 76 | 608 | 21 | 473 |
| Entry training for mid-career professionals | 15 | 60 | 20 | 80 | |
| Self-development support | Correspondence training programs | 562 | - | 295 | - |
| Language learning support | 97 | - | 84 | - | |
| Diversity promotion | Career development support for female employees | 59 | 405 | 99 | 642 |
| Dispatch of female employees to external organizations | 45 | 988 | 146 | 1,238 | |
| Seminar on legal affairs | Seminar on legal affairs | 427 | 467 | 905 | 963 |
| DX/IT human resources development | Training for all group employees | 6,000 | 42,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 |
| Human resources development for workplace promotion | 19 | 422 | - | - | |
| Advanced DX/IT human resources development | 10 | 878 | - | - | |
| DX facilitator development | - | - | 13 | 910 | |
| Training hours per person | - | 8.6 | - | - | |
The number of people covered and total hours for each measure are tabulated and posted.
We have been actively investing in human capital, an important management foundation. As a result of our efforts related to global human capital, DX and IT human capital development, evolution of supportive management, and reskilling, Sapporo Holdings + 4 operating companies' investment in human capital development in 2025 was 328 million yen, or approximately 105,000 yen per employee.
Investment in Human Resource Development
Per capita investment (full-time employees)
Approx. 105,000 yen *Actual 2024 approx. 83,000 yen
Human Resource Development Initiatives of Sapporo Breweries
Sapporo Breweries is implementing human resource development initiatives under the overarching policy of "Developing human resources and organizations that lead transformation and growth." The themes are "Human resources who seize their own growth" and "Transforming individual strength and growth into organizational strength and growth."
Sapporo Breweries supports the self-actualization of its employees, providing them with the tools required to carve out their own stories. It also creates opportunities for employees to teach and learn from one another and engage in friendly rivalry; in this way, they absorb new lessons and make new realizations, which they then put into practice at their respective workplaces, leading to concrete results.
The company also strives to deepen its understanding of diverse human resources and strengthen management's ability to draw out the strengths of each individual. It is implementing "Management Development Measures" as training for managers, offering themed sessions such as feedback training and coaching training.
Human Resource Development Framework and Measures of Sapporo Breweries
Including Sapporo Holdings
TOPICS
Received the Award of Excellence at the 4th Platinum Career Awards
The Sapporo Group considers all employees to be "human assets" who are the company's treasure, and believes that their individuality and ability to do things are what make the brand shine. We aim to be a company where employees are healthy in mind and body, cheerfully and positively taking on new challenges and crossing borders in new areas, and are happy to work for the Group. We encourage all employees to "carve out their own career" and have established various systems and frameworks that enable them to independently develop their careers while providing a wide range of learning opportunities.
In recognition of these efforts, we received an award for excellence at the 4th Platinum Career Awards*.
* Organized by Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. in cooperation with Toyo Keizai Inc. and supported by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Formulation and operation of Succession Plan
Sapporo Breweries has formulated and is operating a Succession Plan to identify and develop human resources for the next generation of leaders.
The company strives to develop them by dispatching approximately 40 people each year to management development programs and giving them opportunities for experience based on stretch assignments. Once every half year, a management meeting is held to confirm progress and review the training plan.
New entry-level employee training with the "tutor program"
Sapporo Breweries introduced the "tutor program" in 1988. It is a new entry-level employee training program which has been handed down over the past 30 years. Senior employees in the same workplace are appointed as tutors and receive tutor training to offer detailed guidance to new employees with support from workplace managers and colleagues.
The benefits of the program are twofold: new employees can achieve peace of mind by sharing any concerns or worries they have about their job, increasing motivation and accelerating work-readiness; for tutors, too, this program becomes an opportunity for growth, as they learn guidance techniques and make new realizations through earnest teaching activities.
Once a month until the following March, new employees write reports on their learnings and any questions they may have. The tutors and superiors in turn then check and comment on each report, with superiors also providing comments for the tutor. The participation of superiors in the education process helps foster an awareness that the entire workplace is cooperating in nurturing the new employees.
These activities are also published within the in-house intranet. The status of other new employees and tutor comments can be viewed, for further motivation and mutual growth.
As the environment surrounding the company continues to change, the growth of "human resources" is crucial. The tutor program is within the Sapporo Breweries DNA as an initiative for new employee growth, tutor growth, on-site growth and for the company's growth as well. It is recognized as a program that needs to be continued and developed.
TOPICS
Leadership Development Program (LDP) for Cultivating Future Business Leaders
The Leadership Development Program (LDP) is a human resource development initiative designed to cultivate future business leaders who will be responsible for managing Group companies. Launched in 2005, the program completed its 13th cohort in February 2026.
The objective of the 13th LDP cohort was to strengthen participants' strategic planning capabilities based on a deep understanding of corporate operating mechanisms and value maximization as next-generation management candidates.
In particular, the program emphasized understanding how corporate activities create value for key stakeholders—including the capital market, product market, and labor market—and developing the ability to assess corporate value from a quantitative and financial perspective. It also aimed to enhance participants' awareness of their accountability to stakeholders involved in corporate activities.
Through this initiative, while enhancing participants' ability to identify optimal business goals and formulate effective strategies, we seek to cultivate management talent equipped with the determination, aspiration, and strong commitment to drive transformation beyond conventional approaches and lead their organizations.
Sapporo Technical Academy
Skill development through practical training
Creating customer satisfaction and excitement from employee satisfaction! Based on this philosophy, Sapporo Technical Academy offers more than 20 training courses mainly for members involved in manufacturing at Sapporo Breweries. In the brewing skills training, each participant, including sales members, makes 5 liters of beer by hand in the company's own facilities so that they can experience the entire process, from mixing ingredients to bottling, with all five senses. After bottling, each participant attaches his/her own label to the beer to complete the "his/her own beer" as the final product, and performs a sensory evaluation. This training allows participants to learn the principles of beer brewing.
The Academy also provides training related to process control, including mechatronics training, to deepen understanding of complex, sophisticated, and automated equipment and to improve problem-solving skills. Furthermore, the Academy is also engaged in the accounting training and other training programs aimed at systematically learning the basic accounting knowledge required from a management perspective and contributing to improved profitability.
In the 30 years since its establishment, the Academy has sent over 7,000 graduates, and plays an important role in supporting Sapporo Breweries' quality in human resources.
In the "Brewing Technology Training" program, students learn how to make beer by hand using their own equipment, from blending ingredients to bottling.
The "Mechatronics Training" program offers hands-on training using equipment employed in process control.
Location
10 Okatoume, Yaizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture 425-0013
Human Resource Development Initiatives of Pokka Sapporo Food & Beverage
To attain the philosophy of "Create the future food standard by facing up to people and society", initiatives that promote individual and organization growth are being implemented.
Educational opportunities related to management, strategical thinking, self-directed awareness and customer perspectives are provided, in hopes of creating new values that correspond to customer needs and changes in the environment, to give birth to anticipated results from each employee, and to also develop support measures that create team and organization results.
Career development support measures at POKKA SAPPORO Food & Beverage
| Various training opportunities | Training per stage |
|---|---|
| Selection/nomination type training | |
| Open training (skills): logical thinking, problem-solving skills | |
| Open training (mindset): career development, self-leadership | |
| Special training per work category | |
| Self-development support | Subsidy for self-development support |
| Incentive program for qualification acquisition | |
| Support for language learning | |
| Short-time workshops | |
| Support for obtaining qualifications in the DX and digital fields |
Human Resource Development Initiatives of Sapporo Lion
Sapporo Lion aims to be a "company consisting of human resources that create results" by heightening motivation and job satisfaction through appropriate evaluation of work results according to each position and role.
Programs such as special training per work category which directly affects daily tasks, along with training per stage and self-development support are also offered. The self-development support program provides aid for correspondence education fees and for acquiring qualification. This will aid in the acquisition of expert knowledge and techniques, which will reinforce skills and hospitality mentalities to cultivate employees that can respond to customer needs.
Career development support measures at Sapporo Lion
| Training per stage | Manager leadership training |
|---|---|
| Branch manager training | |
| Head chef training | |
| Problem identification skills enhancement training (for mid-level employees) | |
| Follow-up training for mid-career recruitment | |
| Training per work category | Service trainer coaching |
| Food preparation practical training | |
| Cooking training for new employees | |
| Practical training for various tasks, etc. | |
| Self-development support programs | Support for qualification acquisition (sommelier, cook, blowfish cook, restaurant service specialist, sanitation manager, mental health management certification, fire and disaster prevention manager, etc.) |
| Assistance for correspondence education fees, on-demand training video viewing (140 videos) |
Human Resource Development Initiatives of the Sapporo Group Logistics
Sapporo Logistics' Human Resource Development University (nicknamed Logistics University)
In an era of severe environmental changes surrounding logistics, Sapporo Logistics considers human resource development to be one of the most important issues, and has opened and operated the Logistics University since 2019, with the aim of fostering and developing human resources to promote logistics reform throughout the Group. Every year, participants from various divisions as well as logistics divisions from Group companies participate in the program, and a total of 136 people have completed it by 2025. The Logistics University provides opportunities for a wide range of activities, from acquiring basic knowledge of logistics to raising SCM-based issues that lead to business strategies. These are opportunities for participants to interact with each other and engage in friendly competition to think more deeply about logistics.
Since logistics and management are closely related, the Logistics University is working to provide learning opportunities not only for the University students, but also for management and all Group employees. One of these is the Open Seminar, in which prominent lecturers from outside the company are invited to speak on issues that encompass the value chain, covering management, organization, front-line operations, and DX. This is an opportunity for Group employees to view logistics issues as their own.
