RUNTEQ Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Hisatoshi Kikumoto), which operates the "RUNTEQ" ultra-practical programming school, has spun off its human resources referral business, previously conducted as part of its job hunting support, to establish the new company RUNTEQ AGENT Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Hisatoshi Kikumoto; Established: March 16, 2026). In conjunction with this, leveraging its proprietary system for visualizing student learning data, RUNTEQ AGENT will launch its paid human resources referral service "RUNTEQ AGENT," specializing in the recruitment and retention of IT personnel, on July 3, 2026 (Fri). Establishment of "RUNTEQ AGENT" Click here for service details ■ Background of RUNTEQ AGENT Establishment The IT industry is currently at a major turning point in both quantity and quality. According to estimates by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, with the growth of the "third platform" market encompassing cloud, IoT, and AI, it is predicted that Japan will face a shortage of up to approximately 800,000 IT personnel by 2030, and the number of job openings in the IT and telecommunications fields continues to increase. (Note 1) On the other hand, many companies are struggling in the recruitment market for new graduate engineers, and the difficulty in hiring due to the supply-demand gap is becoming more serious each year. Under these circumstances, as it becomes more difficult to hire experienced professionals, more companies are venturing into hiring inexperienced engineers. However, the biggest hurdle is the challenge of "difficulty in assessing skills and abilities." Hiring decisions based solely on personality and background carry a risk of mismatch for both companies and job seekers. Furthermore, with the spread of generative AI, the very skill sets required in the field are changing. The importance of "soft skills" such as the ability to utilize AI, proposal capabilities in u