Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB and TOEIC (Test of English For International Communicaton) cooperation protocol was signed for global adaptation in foreign language measurement in cooperation with TOBB and Educational Testing Service Global B.V at TOBB University of Economics and Technology (ETU) Conference Center.

With the protocol signed, in parallel with the vision of the 12^th Development Plan, it is aimed that the foreign language measurement and evaluation tools of the institutions and private sector enterprises in TOBB are at universal standards.

Speaking at the protocol signing ceremony, TOBB Board of Directors Treasurer and TOBB ETU Board of Trustees Member Faik Yavuz stated that they are working in integration with the whole world due to global conditions and said, “While Türkiye was an agricultural country in its own right in the past, today it has become the largest industrial country between China and Italy. In 2022, we exported more than 250 billion dollars. Very naturally, the majority of these exports were made by companies with foreign language competence. Therefore, knowing a foreign language is no longer an additional qualification, but a mandatory need. This need is increasing and increasing day by day in the private sector. Communicating with foreign companies in the private sector is very important in terms of trade.”

Stating that the protection of the country's interests in the international arena is of critical importance for the development of the trade of the countries when looking at global policies, Yavuz said, “Until now, this task was carried out by our trade attachés and diplomats. However, at this point, the interests of the country need to be protected in many technical areas, including commercial diplomacy. Of course, consultations and meetings on such platforms are held in English. It does not seem possible for our diplomats and trade attachés to catch up with all these platforms. On such platforms, each company needs to protect its interests in line with the policies of their country. If we want the foreign trade of our country to develop, we know that in the coming period we will need technical human resources who know the English language in such areas much more.”

Stating that the global trade language is English, Yavuz said, “If we want to have a say in global competition, we have to have qualified human resources who speak English well. As traders and industrialists, the documentation of foreign language competencies is obviously very important for our human resources processes. At TOBB ETU, we provide qualified English education to our students with this vision. As a graduation requirement, we require a high score from the TOFEL exam. At this point, ETS Global has been operating in many different English certification areas in Türkiye for years. The TOEIC system, which is a very important certification system of ETS Global, is actually a rapid certification system designed for the private sector. Academic English and business English are different, so we consider that the TOEIC exam is more suitable for the business world.”

Emphasizing that they have stepped into an important cooperation with ETS Global in order for the Turkish private sector to have qualified human resources who speak English, Yavuz said, “We are starting to work together to spread the TOEIC exam system in our country and in the private sector. We invite Türkiye's leading companies and institutions, especially international companies and corporate companies, to request the TOEIC exam from the candidates in their new recruitment. We also invite students and current employees to take the TOEIC exam in order to certify their English proficiency. Within the scope of this cooperation, we will ensure that TOBB ETU students have TOEIC exam scores when they graduate.”

The meeting ended after the signing of the TOBB and TOEIC cooperation protocol. TOBB Board of Directors Treasurer and TOBB ETU Board of Trustees Member Faik Yavuz, TOBB ETU Rector Prof. Dr. Yusuf Sarınay and ETS Global B.V General Manager Jeremie Rossignol attended the signing ceremony.