Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Stating that the contributions of Ziya Selçuk, the Minister of National Education, are instrumental in taking this visionary step, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We have seen how a Minister from the business world can disrupt rote memorizations. I would like to congratulate and applaud him for pioneering such a beneficial endeavor.”

Stating that companies have complained about not being able to find qualified personnel, the TOBB President said, “Young people are languishing in coffee houses all over the country. Why, because the education we give in schools doesn't work in the real world. The qualities demanded in the job market are not taught in schools. We had to change this asymmetric structure. We looked abroad. The country with the lowest rate of youth unemployment in Europe is Germany with 6%. Why? Because they have integrated vocational education and real sector through chambers. We boast that we have a young population. But in fact, we are unable to make use of this potential. Many young people are unemployed because they have no vocation. This is a big risk for the future. Here, the Turkish business world, our chambers and exchanges have taken on this task. Thanks to the brave and resolute policy of our Minister of Education, a first for Turkey is in the offing. We move on to a new and dynamic vocational training model, which is prepared according to the qualities demanded by the market. In this context, 81 vocational high schools in 81 provinces are covered by the protocol. We will ensure that the vocational training in these places is designed in line with the needs of the sector through our chambers and exchanges. We will establish workshops and laboratories in these schools and renew existing ones. We will launch R & D and Skill Design Workshops. We will prepare the educational syllabus with the support of TOBB ETU.”

- Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk

Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk said, “TOBB’s existence as the driving force of our economy and our cooperation with it are of vital importance. This importance is expressed directly with the relationship between economy and education. Because, if we are talking about the middle income trap, this is actually a secondary education trap. In other words, if our education improves, our economy will get better. In this context, we are happy to be taking such a step. In my opinion, this is the transformation in the professional and technical education. Within the framework of this transformation, the course schedules of vocational and technical education, teacher trainings, conducting the work and operations there, and transitioning to a production-based education show that all of these changes will impact the transformation of the paradigm in vocational education. This will not be accomplished by a simple decision from within the Ministry of National Education, but with the efforts of our office representatives, our school principals' efforts. For this reason, we have to put our support in these efforts with no reservations.”

Stating that they are working to fulfill their share in attaining the 2023 goals as the educational community trying, Selcuk said, “Of course, we have expectations from the business world. In taking part in this protocol, they have taken on a great burden. For this, I would like to thank all business representatives. There are no more excuses; There are some problems and a great many expectations. Let me give a simple statistic: In Germany, 80% of vocational technical schools are schools supported by the private sector. I think our work in all 81 provinces is a beginning and this study is especially relevant to our other vocational technical schools and about 130,000 vocational technical schools. I think that our ability to grow in this context will also serve to improve them in the development of these projects. The fact that this work is carried out together with TOBB and TOBB ETU also shows the importance of the link between secondary and higher education. The existence of TOBB-ETÜ is important in terms of reflecting this at secondary level. While maintaining all these, we can easily say that a new era has started in vocational and technical education; that this is intertwined with the sector, and that production in our schools is a learning method. I am very grateful for the fact that a work that has been imagined for many years is being brought to life today; I would like to thank everyone who contributed.”