Takeshi Ameda, President and CEO of QLS Holdings Co., Ltd.

Quality of Life High quality life for everyone!!

President and CEO of QLS Holdings Co., Ltd.　Takeshi Ameda(Ameda Takeshi)

■ Profile

He was born in Chiba Prefecture in 1977. From university to employment, he experienced the rough waves of life, but he built up his confidence and in 2005 he founded Qualis Limited (now Qualis Co., Ltd.). Later, he established QLS Holdings Co., Ltd. through a stock transfer. Over time, the business expanded, the number of colleagues increased, and in June 2023, the company was listed on the Nagoya Stock Exchange. At 46 years old, he is still active.

QLS Holdings Co., Ltd. provides management guidance and management for five subsidiaries. Its business activities are diverse, including childcare, nursing care, welfare for the disabled, and temporary staffing, and what underpins them is a strong awareness of issues such as contributing to the local community and solving social problems. We spoke to President and CEO Takeshi Amada about his experiences and thoughts from university to employment, starting up the company, and expanding the business.

After graduating from high school, I enrolled in the night course at Hosei University. However, I felt confined by the limited content I could learn, so I decided to transfer to the day course at Meiji University. The studying I did for the day course exams proved to be extremely useful for my future. At the time, I read books from a wide range of genres by various authors at a pace of 10 books a day, and not only did I gain a multifaceted perspective, but it also helped me build a foundation for my later entrepreneurial and management careers, which I believe was extremely beneficial.

The many part-time jobs I had as a student were also great experiences. Working part-time at a restaurant, I came into contact with people from a variety of backgrounds and realized the importance of communication skills to ensure work progresses smoothly. I am currently running a business in the fields of nursing care and childcare, so I believe that the lessons I learned from those part-time jobs about the importance of interacting with people are still useful to me today.

■ Don't give up even in a pinch and keep trying

Being part of the generation that experienced the employment ice age, I had a very hard time finding a job. I joined a company that I had a connection with, but after working there for a while, I realized that the atmosphere was not what I was looking for. Just as I was debating whether to quit my job, the company was looking for a president to launch a new business, so I thought I might as well give it a try, applied, was hired, and ended up launching and running a nursing care business. I started the business in a small corner of a building, but being involved in the nursing care business made me realize that there are various issues and the associated needs that exist in each local community.

Looking back, I'm glad that I took on the challenge of running for president rather than quitting my job. I later left the company to start my own business, but I chose to work in the nursing care and childcare industries because of the realizations and experiences I had at that time.

■ A wide range of businesses centered around five subsidiaries

QLS Holdings is a company that provides management guidance and management for five subsidiaries: Qualis Co., Ltd., Lserve Co., Ltd., Dowin Co., Ltd., Nagomi Co., Ltd., and Fureai Town Co., Ltd. The company's main business activities are divided into three categories: childcare, nursing care/disability welfare, and temporary staffing. Originally, the company focused on nursing care services, but expanded its business to meet the needs of the local community and provide more comprehensive services. Although there were some challenges due to the increase in the number of businesses it handles, we believe that the commonalities and interconnectedness between each business have increased the overall convenience and flexibility of the company.

One of the benefits of expanding our business broadly is that it helps us survive in the industry. As long as we have customers who use our services, we need to maintain stable management at all times. This is something we have felt keenly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our services are particularly closely related to people's lives, so stable management is extremely important. For this reason, our goal in all our businesses is to enrich the lives of our users and contribute to the local community.

■ Ingenuity in a world where differentiation is difficult

In fact, it's very difficult to differentiate between nursery schools and nursing care facilities. This is because both have limited flexibility due to their institutional structures. This is unavoidable due to the characteristics of the facilities, so we try to be creative within our capabilities. For example, at nursery schools, because needs vary by region, we have our own unique curriculum, including English education, art classes, and programs for elementary school entrance exams. This initiative was started with the desire to provide a high-quality education to all children, but of course we can't arbitrarily set additional fees, so we cover the entire cost ourselves. I believe that these kinds of innovations have ultimately become our company's strengths.

We also aim to provide the "best school lunch in Japan." It is said that the breadth of taste buds only expands during childhood. As we are caring for children during such a precious period, we want to provide them with the best possible experience. Specifically, we use ingredients that are carefully sourced and have introduced a system that allows information to be conveyed to parents. Influenced by my own emphasis on the importance of food, I began this initiative with the aim of providing the best school lunch in Japan. These efforts have been highly praised by our users.

■ Pay attention to the physical and mental health of employees

Another area we are focusing on is creating an environment where employees can work comfortably. This is because we believe that the most important thing in childcare and nursing care, which support people's health, is for employees to be healthy both physically and mentally. We are implementing a variety of initiatives, one example being a "beauty subsidy" that covers employees' beauty expenses. We started this with the hope that by being conscious of the time they spend on beauty, employees will have more time to devote to themselves and feel happier in their private lives. Children are sensitive to adults' emotions. No matter how comprehensive our employee training, if employees do not approach their work with a positive attitude, we will not be able to build meaningful relationships of trust.

■ If you keep trying without giving up, you can make it happen

Finally, what I would like to say to all students is, "Never give up and keep trying." I was by no means an excellent student. In my job search, things often didn't go as planned, and I struggled a lot even after joining a company. However, I was conscious of not missing any opportunities that came my way and always keeping trying. Students may find themselves in difficult situations in the future. But as long as you keep trying and don't give up, you'll be able to make it. In those situations, I want you to think about what you can do and strive to become better.

Student Newspaper Online, June 23, 2023, Interview by Ikehama Momoka, 2th year student at Sophia University