Although this won’t have a huge effect on the unemployment rate in Japan—which is about 5.1%, the sort of number that people in the U.S. can only dream about—Mazda Motor Corp. has announced that it is planning to add 110 people to its engineering ranks and 25 to its office staff for fiscal year 2011. While not big numbers in and of themselves, this is an increase from 100 in engineering and 20 in office staff from fiscal 2010.

A couple notable things about this. First, this is what they’re looking for as regards the engineering staff: “Graduate school, university, technical college, vocational college, high school graduates.” And for the office/clerical positions: “Graduate school, university, junior college, vocational college graduates.”

If there is any question about the value of getting an education, there it is.

Second, here’s what Mazda’s Minoru Mitsuda, executive officer and general manager of the Human Resources Div., said about what the new hires will be doing: “Our new recruits will work in exciting areas such as Mazda’s future eco-technologies, Monotsukuri Innovation and in marketing. Mazda is always looking for flexible individuals who are ambitious and determined, and who dare to take on tough challenges.”

The eco-technologies are evident. But “Montosukuri Innovation”? This is about manufacturing development. Clearly, there is a recognition at Mazda that before there can be products that Zoom-Zoom, someone has to make them. So even the manufacturing engineers need to be flexible, ambitious, determined, and willing to take on the tough stuff.