Japan Asunaro Aoki Construction strengthens recruitment of skilled Sri Lankan professionals

from left: Prof. Sujeewa Lewangamage, Registrar D.L.D. Jayantha, Deputy Vice Chancellor Prof. D.P. Chandrasekara, AA Construction General Manager Seiji Sakuraike, Vice Chancellor Sen Prof. N.D. Gunawardena, AA Construction Executive General Manager Shinnsuke Murakami, Head of Tokyo Civil Engineering Branch Shigeru Seiji and Dr. Hasitha Damruwan

Asunaro Aoki Construction Co., Ltd, a mid-sized Japanese general contractor that has been expanding its recruitment of foreign professionals, held a meeting with the University of Moratuwa on October 28 to discuss the company’s approach and initiatives for hiring highly skilled foreign talent. 

The meeting was attended by the vice-chancellor of the university, dean of the Faculty of Engineering and heads of the Civil Engineering Departments, along with representatives from Asunaro Aoki Construction.

Asunaro Aoki Construction was established in 2004 through the merger of Aoki Corporation, known for its large-scale civil engineering projects and Asunaro Construction Co., Ltd, whose predecessor Doboku Co., Ltd was founded in 1950.

The company is engaged in a wide range of construction projects, including large-scale civil engineering works such as dams, tunnels and bridges as well as unmanned construction projects. It also undertakes the design and construction of commercial facilities, logistics centres and condominium buildings across Japan.

Since February 2022, Asunaro Aoki has been hiring highly skilled Sri Lankan engineers as full-time professional staff. To date, 25 graduates from the University of Moratuwa have joined the company.

Currently, 15 additional Moratuwa graduates are studying Japanese at a local language school, with all costs — from recruitment to relocation — fully covered by the company. During their Japanese language training, these engineers also receive salaries from Asunaro Aoki, reflecting the company’s strong commitment to supporting talented Sri Lankan professionals.

In April 2024, Asunaro Aoki established a dedicated department responsible for the comprehensive management of foreign talent recruitment and support.

The department is currently headed by Seiji Sakuraike, a naturalised Japanese national originally from Sri Lanka.

The company plans to continue recruiting talented engineers from Sri Lanka as part of its long-term human resource development strategy.