Nick Titley
Nick Titley was an AET (JET ALT) in Haga Town, Hyogo Prefecture 1992-1995. He joined the JET programme after completing a degree in Commerce, inspired by The Toyota Production System and Just In Time manufacturing, and excited about Japan’s technological wonders and cultural output.
An early memory was staggering out of the arrivals area at Narita into the oppressive, humid summer, flanked by shiny new JETs arriving from all over the planet, some weighed down with skis others with surfboards. Immediate reaction - Wow!! What was I throwing myself into?
I made the transfer to my new rural home via the prefectural teacher training centre.
Haga town, now part of Shiso city, is a small, friendly rural community in Hyogo prefecture, set in the mountains along the spine of Honshu. I worked as a teaching assistant based in the junior high school where I employed all manner of methods to encourage students to enjoy communicating in English. I cherished the weekly opportunity to zoom up and down the winding, lush, forested valleys in my tiny turbocharged 4WD Kei car, to teach basic English and entertain kindergarten infants and primary school kids.
The JET programme was transformative, shaping both my professional and personal life. The opportunity to play a key role at the heart of a community, travel, and form an international network of friends, has been immensely rewarding. I have pursued a career in technology and languages, working for many years as a Product Manager at Canon Europe. I have recently joined the Civil Service where I collaborate with an amazing team developing technologies that support the drive towards Net Zero, energy security and lower consumer energy bills. The skills, experience, and insights I acquired through JET have proved invaluable in the workplace, whether it be using the language, applying cultural insights, throwing myself into unfamiliar situations, organising events or presenting.
My advice to current JETs is to “lean in” - actively engage with challenges and unfamiliar situations rather than avoiding them. The JET programme is full of such challenges and situations; more so, I imagine, than the first steps in many careers. You can foster growth, innovation, and a deeper understanding and appreciation of complex issues.
Recent returnees: make the most of every moment on this unique experience, and secondly, to not underestimate or undersell the skills and experience you have acquired. You’ve an amazing set of hard and soft skills that you develop on the JET Programme: planning, teaching, communication, resilience, emotional intelligence, creativity, confidence, cultural awareness and sensitivity, and more. I recommend reflecting on these, what they are, where they add value and how you might best communicate them to others.
Are you a JET alum with a story to share? Get in touch to be featured in an upcoming Senpai Spotlight.
