An Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) can work in a public school through different employment arrangements. Start with the employer named in the recruitment notice; the school where someone teaches does not, by itself, identify their employer.
JET: a national programme with a local employer
JET participants are employed by their contracting organisation, such as a local government, rather than by JET, MEXT or CLAIR. The programme also includes placements at private schools. The employer sets the appointment terms. Applications normally go through Japanese embassies and consulates in participating countries, rather than a city's ordinary recruitment process. Source: JET Programme FAQ.
National coordination does not mean a national ministry directly pays every participant's salary. MIC handles financial support through the Local Allocation Tax system; MOFA handles recruitment and selection, and MEXT handles educational training. Those roles should not be described as one universal MEXT salary payment for every kind of ALT. Source: JET programme structure.
Direct hire outside JET: apply to the public employer
A direct public employer recruits the individual under its own advertised terms. Read the appointment category, length and renewal conditions. Direct hire does not automatically mean permanent employment. For example, Tsukuba publishes its ALT recruitment under 会計年度任用職員, fiscal-year appointed staff, with a stated appointment period and local employment conditions. Source: Tsukuba's official ALT recruitment notice.
Dispatch: the company employs the ALT
In worker dispatch (派遣), the worker has an employment relationship with the dispatch company and works under the receiving organisation's direction. The receiving organisation pays a dispatch fee to the company; that fee is different from the worker's pay. A contracted service may use a different legal arrangement, so check the actual specification rather than treating every outsourced service as dispatch. Source: MHLW's guide to dispatch work (Japanese PDF).
A dispatch company's margin includes costs such as employer social insurance and training as well as profit. The difference between a contract price and salary is therefore not a measure of profit alone. Source: MHLW's explanation of dispatch margins.
How this affects your search
- Jobs: a public body is recruiting an individual. Check the employer, requirements, pay, deadline and application route.
- Contracts: a public body is procuring a provider. A request for a company to supply 65 ALTs is one contract notice, not 65 direct-hire jobs.
- Signals & Information: budgets, plans and other context do not establish that recruitment is open.
These distinctions identify the arrangement. They do not determine your eligibility, promise a vacancy, or establish which arrangement is best for you.