Market Overview

Size of the school BPO market for FY2022 grew to 104.0% of the preceding fiscal year to 187,000 million yen, based on the sales of businesses. As people’s flow gradually recovered from the Covid crisis in FY2022, classroom sessions were resumed, and therefore students came back on campus. Accordingly, recovery was seen in the demand for agencies (insurance and travel agency for students and school faculties, real estate agency for student housing such as dormitories and apartments) and operation outsourcing (facility management, cleaning, canteen operation, retailing of goods and services on university premises). However, while demand for school cafeteria operation and on-site retailing are recovering, canteen business is not paying off by itself due to soaring food prices and capital investments for counter-infection measures. Meanwhile, the demand for outsourcing administrative departments such as human resources and general affairs have almost returned to the pre-pandemic level.  

Noteworthy Topics

Survey Revealed “Agency Business” as Most Entered Business Domain Among For-Profit Corporations Established by Universities

According to our survey to 130 for-profit corporations funded by universities (as of March 2024), we found out that 109 companies (83.8%) provide “agency services” for insurance, travel, and real estate, 92 companies (70.8%) offer “facility management & cleaning” services, and 85 companies (65.4%) provide “procurement” of school equipment and teaching aids. The result indicates that these three are the main business areas of for-profit corporations funded by universities.

Future Outlook

The size of the school BPO market is forecasted to reach 192,000 million yen for FY2023, 102.7% of the preceding fiscal year, based on the sales of businesses. As the new coronavirus was reclassified to Class 5 under the Infectious Disease Control Law in May 2023, restrictions on the number of seats in school cafeterias and cafes have been lifted, allowing their operations to go back to pre-pandemic styles. Demand recovery was also seen in graduation trips and school faculty banquets.  

Driven by the needs for reducing overhead costs at schools, the demand for school BPO at cost center jobs at schools, chiefly administrative jobs, is definitely on the rise. BPO services (not only those funded by universities but also other companies) are increasingly closing deals, while they actively engage in expanding their capabilities.

Going forward, the market environment of the incorporated educational institutions will become harsher even more, as they cannot expect tuition revenue as much as they previously did (due to the decrease of students stemming from the declining birthrate) and thus they are compelled to cut overhead costs. Under the circumstances, we believe the school BPO market will continue to grow further. 

Research Outline