Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer and the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vahit Kirişçi signed a protocol about the Joint Management Model of Agriculture Vocational and Technical Anatolia High Schools.

 

Minister Özer said during this speech at the protocol ceremony that vocational education is sensitive to changes in the labor market and it raises human resources directly to the sector.

 

"Most important paradigm shift we have achieved was including sector companies in the education process. Due to traumatic experiences in the past, the labor market suffered from finding the right employer for vacant positions. In addition to that, vocational schools suffered from success differences from other types of schools. We have carried out projects in an effort to overcome these problems since 2012," said Özer.

 

Özer noted that problems concerning vocational education were solved and it turned into a type of education that shed a light on the future of the country.

 

"From now on, we are mentioning the increasing production capacity of vocational schools. In 2021, these schools earned 1 billion and 200 million liras from their products. Remember the Covid-19 pandemic. These schools quickly changed their production facilities in order to produce most needed masks, disinfectants, ventilators and disposable overalls. They produced rapid antigen kits. They produced mask machines. They started to export their products to other countries. They got the registration of their useful models, brands, designs and patents as a result of intellectual property rights projects. Today, there are 54 R&D centers in these schools. They continue to improve their capacities, adapt innovative approaches and increase their existing product variety," noted Özer.

 

Minister Özer said that vocational education must be reinforced for the welfare and development of the country and decreasing young unemployment rates.

 

"We developed a joint management model with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for a brand new beginning in agriculture. We will revise the curriculum of agriculture vocational schools according to recent technology and plan skill training programs for students in cooperation. I believe that we will start a new era by responding to problems such as climate change, droughts and the food supply chain," said Özer.

 

Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Vahit Kirişci noted that the country has seen that university education is not the only way for sustainability and many sectors including agriculture are in need of intermediate staff.

 

Kirişçi said that protocol between two ministries is important for responding to intermediate staff in the agriculture sector.

 

"We are excited about projects carried out turning villages into centers of attraction again. Actually, life is better in rural areas," said Kirişçi.