Volve

What Volve does

VOLVE is a Japan-based career platform operating exclusively in the cross-border space between Japan's central government ministries (Kasumigaseki) and the private sector. Founded in September 2022 by Hirokazu Yoshii — a former McKinsey consultant who also served as a Deputy Director at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare — the company provides dual-direction career support: guiding current and former national civil servants into private-sector roles, and helping private-sector professionals transition into government positions. Its services include career counseling, résumé/職務経歴書 coaching, interview preparation, pre-boarding support, and curated job matching. The company is a licensed employment placement agency (有料職業紹介, permit 13-ユ-314591).

The platform's technology stack is purpose-built around Kasumigaseki-specific knowledge. The annual salary simulator calculates expected civil-servant compensation using the latest National Personnel Authority (JINJI) recommendations, with parameters for job type, age, and dependents. A hint-based search function translates bureaucratic job-posting terminology into plain business language, lowering the barrier for private-sector candidates searching government roles. A retirement-severance simulator and a centralized job-listing portal round out the toolset. VOLVE School, an online course launched in June 2026 (12 on-demand lectures, 300,000 JPY standard pricing), extends the offering into B2C education for candidates targeting central ministry positions. The underlying technology is content-and-data-driven rather than AI-driven, with differentiation rooted in insider knowledge of government compensation rules and bureaucratic jargon.

The business model combines two revenue streams: fee-based employment placement (transaction fees on successful placements) and online course enrollment (VOLVE School). Go-to-market is sales-led and event-driven: direct corporate B2B sales for placement services, large-scale career forums (notably the Kasumigaseki Career Forum co-held with 6 ministries), and content marketing. The company is a contracted placement agent for METI's FY2025 selection-based hiring and a recurring lecturer for JINJI's practical experience hiring training (4 consecutive years). Named employer clients include McKinsey, BCG, KPMG FAS, A.T. Kearney, Mitsui, Nippon Yusen, Marubeni, Cybozu, Ubie, Euglena, and Nihon Souken, reflecting a diversified B2B customer base across consulting, trading, technology, and traditional industry.

Name

Volve

Legal name

Volve株式会社

Website

https://volve.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VOLVE is a Japan-based career platform enabling bidirectional transitions between central government ministries (Kasumigaseki) and the private sector. Founded 2022, it offers career counseling, job matching, salary simulators, and serves as METI's FY2025 placement agent.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Career Placement & Executive Recruitment

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Outplacement Platforms & Virtual Career Transition (BPACAOAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Workforce & Career Transition Noncredit Programs (EDAAAEAC)

Keywords

• Career transition services
• Public sector recruitment
• Employment placement agency
• Mid-career placement
• Government talent mobility

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 有料職業紹介事業 (Fee-based Employment Placement): VOLVE operates as a licensed employment placement agency (許可番号: 13-ユ-314591), placing candidates from public to private sector and vice versa. Revenue is generated through placement fees, likely success-based upon placement completion.
2. VOLVE SCHOOL (Online Course): VOLVE SCHOOL offers an online course for civil servant job seekers targeting Kasumigaseki positions. Revenue is generated through course enrollment fees. The standard course is priced at 300,000 yen plus 30,000 yen enrollment fee, with discounts and scholarship options available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

VOLVE provides dual-direction career transition support between Japan's national government (Kasumigaseki ministries) and the private sector. As a licensed employment placement agency, it delivers career counseling, resume/職務経歴書 coaching, interview preparation, pre-boarding support, and job matching for both government officials entering the private sector and private-sector professionals seeking government roles, supplemented by proprietary digital tools (salary simulator, retirement severance simulator, Kasumigaseki jargon translation), an online course (VOLVE School), and recurring career forum events.

Product overview

VOLVE offers a unified platform for cross-border career transitions between the public and private sectors in Japan. The core offering is the 越境キャリア支援サービス (Cross-border Career Support Service), which provides dual-direction support for both private-to-public and public-to-private transitions. This is complemented by specialized tools including the 年収シミュレーター (Annual Salary Simulator) for salary projections, ヒント付き検索機能 (Hint-based Search) for deciphering bureaucratic job postings, and the VOLVE School 中央省庁転職コース online course for government job application preparation. The platform also hosts career forums and provides specialized counseling services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cross-border Career Support Service (越境キャリア支援サービス)

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ companies contracted for placement services within ~10 months of launch (November 2022)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• National Personnel Authority of Japan (人事院)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 August 2025VOLVE's CEO Yoshii and Director Takahashi have served as recurring lecturers for JINJI's practical experience hiring training program (実務経験採用者研修) for 4 consecutive years. The training covers workshop-style sessions on work culture adjustment and professional development for mid-career government hires.
• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (経済産業省)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025VOLVE was officially selected as the placement agent for METI's FY2025 selection-based hiring (本省選考採用 総合職相当), marking a pioneering government use of a recruitment agency for experienced civil servant hiring in Japan. VOLVE supports candidate outreach, counseling, and placement coordination for METI's experienced hiring pipeline.
• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (経済産業省)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2025VOLVE was commissioned by METI to conduct agent-based recruitment trial services (エージェント試行業務) as part of METI's FY2024 survey project on experienced hiring reform (MVV策定・組織経営改革を踏まえた採用改革に関する調査事業). This included hosting 4 recruitment information sessions and conducting individual candidate interviews.
• Multiple Central Ministries (経済産業省, 農林水産省, 国土交通省, デジタル庁)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2023VOLVE organized the first-ever 霞が関キャリアフォーラム, bringing together 4 (later 6) central ministries for a joint online career event targeting private-sector professionals. This was described as an extremely rare event where multiple ministries participated in a civilian-organized career forum.
• Makaira (マカイラ株式会社)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParticipated as a company in VOLVE Career Forum 2023 Winter, recruiting former government officials for positions at Makaira.
• Nihon Souken (日本総研)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParticipated as a company in VOLVE Career Forum 2023 Winter and later in the 4th edition, recruiting former government officials for consulting roles.
• Nippon Yusen (日本郵船)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParticipated in VOLVE Career Forum 2023 Winter, recruiting former government officials.
• Nomura Research Institute (野村総合研究所)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParticipated in VOLVE Career Forum 2023 Winter, recruiting former government officials for consulting roles.
• Arthur D. Little (A.T. カーニー)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParticipated in VOLVE Career Forum 4th edition (July 2024), recruiting former government officials.
• Globis Capital Partners (グローワード・キャピタル・パートナーズ)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParticipated in VOLVE Career Forum 4th edition (July 2024), recruiting former government officials for venture capital roles.
• Turing株式会社minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParticipated in VOLVE Career Forum 4th edition (July 2024), recruiting former government officials.
• 弁護士ドットコムminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorParticipated in VOLVE Career Forum 4th edition (July 2024), recruiting former government officials.
• Marubeni (丸紅)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCo-presented with A.T.カーニー and METI at the 官民GXキャリア・フォーラム (August 2024), discussing GX (Green Transformation) career paths across government and private sector.
• Glavis Group / Glavis Architecture (グラビス・アーキテクツ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted a public dialogue/interview with GLAVIS Group CEO on the theme of 'Why Cross-Border Careers Between Public and Private Sectors Now?' published on VOLVE's article page. Both companies share an interest in public-private collaboration and regional revitalization.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BizReach (ビズリーチ): Operates one of Japan's largest headhunting platforms for mid-career and executive talent, with a similar dual-sided candidate/employer marketplace model. Comparable in audience and fee structure; broader in scope (all sectors) versus VOLVE's Kasumigaseki focus.
• JAC Recruitment: Japan-focused mid-career and executive recruitment agency specializing in placement of professionals moving between industries, functions, and sectors. Closely comparable to VOLVE in target candidate profile (experienced professionals) and fee-based placement model, though not government-specialized.
• Michael Page Japan: International mid-career recruitment firm with established Japan operations, specializing in placing experienced professionals into corporate, consulting, and policy-adjacent roles. Comparable placement methodology and fee structure to VOLVE.
• CareerCross: Bilingual job platform and recruitment service in Japan targeting experienced professionals, including cross-border (private-sector ↔ quasi-public/international) transitions. Comparable niche positioning and mid-career focus.
• Robert Walters Japan: International mid-career and executive search firm with strong Japan presence, frequently placing professionals moving between consulting, corporate, and government-adjacent roles. Comparable target audience and fee-based model.
• Hays Japan: Global mid-career recruitment specialist with a Japan office focused on experienced-hire placements across professional services, technology, and life sciences — directly comparable to VOLVE's mid-career placement mechanics and consulting/government-adjacent client base.

Broad incumbents

• Pasona Group: Diversified Japanese staffing and HR services group with significant government and public-sector contractor business, including career transition and outplacement offerings. Comparable in serving government talent flows and offering career transition services, though at much larger scale.
• en Japan (エン・ジャパン): Large Japanese recruitment platform operator (en, doda, Agri, etc.) serving mid-career hiring across industries. Comparable placement mechanics and candidate experience layer, but operates at much broader scope than VOLVE's government-private niche.
• doda (パーソルキャリア): Mid-career recruitment platform operated by Pasono Group; comparable in dual candidate/employer matching and mid-career focus. Far larger scale and broader sector coverage than VOLVE.
• Recruit Holdings: Japan's largest recruitment and HR services conglomerate (Indeed, LinkedIn stake, domestic staffing brands). Indirect competitor via scale, marketing, and ability to enter niche verticals; not focused on Kasumigaseki specifically.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/volve_career
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@volvecareer
• Facebookfacebook.com/volvecareer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/volve%E6%A0%AA%E5%BC%8F%E4%BC%9A%E7%A4%BE

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Volve