Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, in his speech here, said that under Özer’s leadership, they have accomplished good deeds, especially in vocational education.

Stating that they came together on the occasion of the Vocational Skills Mobilization, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “As the private sector, we complained about not being able to find qualified employees and that vocational education did not meet the needs of the private sector. We wanted public-private sector cooperation in vocational education to increase and the role of the private sector to be strengthened. We wanted vocational training to be the most important infrastructure in meeting the human resources of the private sector.This has been on our agenda for 20 years. We have received both great support and important actions from our minister in this regard.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that vocational education has become the center of attraction of the education world again, and that the most concrete example of this situation is seen in the results of the High School Transition System (LGS) placement.

Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that the occupancy rate of vocational high schools in LGS 2022 is 95 percent, and the number of students in vocational training centers is approaching 1.5 million.

Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “With the campaign we call Vocational Skills Mobilization, UNICEF Job Advisory Board members, Türkiye’s leading business institutions and companies are committed to recruiting interns from vocational training and providing employment. I invite all companies in our country to participate in this campaign and to take on interns from vocational training and to provide employment.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that as the Ministry of National Education and TOBB, they work together to improve the quality of vocational education and to ensure that students prefer vocational education, and emphasized that human capital is the chance of the competitiveness of the private sector.

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they believe the priority issue of the country is education and they work with the awareness that there can never be any loss from the investment made in education.

Hisarcıklıoğlu underlined that they are preparing young people for the future by investing in vocational education, and stated that as Türkiye’s entrepreneurial power, they will continue to invest in the future of the country.

- “This is a revolution in vocational education”

Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer stated that TOBB is one of the most important stakeholders in strengthening education and increasing access to education.

Emphasizing that an important step was taken to strengthen employment ability by increasing professional skills with the agreement made, Özer said, “We need to increase the intertransitivity of the labor market and education processes. We need to make the working environment of the labor market a part of education so that we can be strong in vocational education.”

Pointing out that vocational training centers constitute a type of education that meets the need for apprentices, journeymen and masters, and in this context, does not leave the master without apprentices and journeymen, Özer said that this education culture is equivalent to the culture of “akhism” that has been going on for hundreds of years.

Özer stated that the number of apprentices and trainees, which was 159,000 at the end of 2021, has reached 1.3 million as of today, and said, “This is really a revolution in vocational education.”

Pointing out that the discourse of ‘not being able to find the desired employee’ is history, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises, Özer said, “If they can no longer find the employee they are looking for, they have a problem with the price. Because there are enough graduates in the market. The process works very efficiently.”

Pointing out that the rate of young people who are not involved in either education or employment is a risk for every country and that young people should be either in education or employment, Özer said, “After the move we have made in vocational training centers, the net rate of 2022 will fall to the OECD average. Because 81 percent of the 1.3 million apprentices and journeymen are over the age of 18.”

Explaining that women’s employment will also increase thanks to the mobilization move between the Ministry of National Education, TOBB and UNICEF, Özer said, “Every step taken in education has the potential to improve not only in that area, but also in every field related to that area.”

Emphasizing that there is a misperception that ‘child labor is increasing’ regarding the steps taken in vocational education recently, Özer said, “I do not know where this comes from. Vocational training centers are not an employment program. Vocational training centers are a training program. Therefore, we are perturbed by the expression ‘child labor’ and the kinds of perception it leads to.”

- “I invite all corporate companies and employers to give opportunities to young people”

Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Representative in Türkiye, expressed appreciation for the Vocational Skills Mobilization, noting young people will achieve great gains in the transition from learning to earning.

Stating that changes in skills should be ensured with the emergence of new types of jobs in the changing and transforming world, Dominicis said that they continue to work in this context.

Dominicis noted the reason why employment rates around the world are below the desired is the market mismatch with the employer.

Thanking Minister Özer for his contributions to the prioritization of vocational education in Türkiye, Dominicis stated that the mobilization will pave the way for young people to use their skills effectively and to participate in employment more easily.

“The perception of vocational and technical education is changing. I am very hopeful about this mobilization. I invite all corporate companies and employers in Türkiye to give opportunities to young people.”