Making numerous arrangements to strengthen vocational education and solve problems, our Ministry achieved a very high employment rate by 88 percent for the graduates of vocational education centers where traditional apprentice, journeyman and mastership training is provided and continues to take new steps to strengthen these centers.

 

Deputy Minister Mahmut Özer visited the vocational education center in Bursa and made statements.

 

Noting that these educational institutions offer significant opportunities to reduce youth unemployment, Özer said it is enough to be a graduate from secondary school to register in the vocational education center and there is no age limit. 

 

"While students receive education at school once a week for 4 years, they receive occupational skill training in centers on other days. They receive one-third of the minimum wage for 4 years and are insured against work and occupational diseases as well. We want to increase the number of students in vocational education centers. For this purpose, we have prepared a comprehensive work program. We aim to increase the number of students attending vocational education centers to over 250 thousand as of the next school year. We have put the pilot scheme of this project into practice in Bursa. The number of students attending vocational education centers in Bursa is around 3 thousand. Our aim is to reach 10 thousand students. We are working hard with sector representatives, chambers of industry and commerce and stakeholders under the coordination of Governorship of Bursa."

 

Özer thanked the Governor Yakup Canpolat, deputies, mayors, chamber presidents, philanthropists, stakeholders and sector representatives for their support for the work in Bursa, and congratulated the Provincial Director of National Education Sabahattin Dülger and his colleagues who manage the process successfully.

Özer emphasized that one of the arrangements made by our Ministry to strengthen the vocational education centers is the structure established by the graduates of these centers to receive high school diplomas.

 

Stating that through this way, vocational education center graduates can get a high school diploma, Özer said: "As the Ministry, we attach great importance to increasing the quality and capacity of vocational education centers where traditional apprenticeship, journeyman and mastership training are given. One of the most fundamental problems in vocational education centers is that graduates cannot get a high school diploma even though they can become masters at the end of 4 years of education. Therefore, many students did not want to go vocational education centers. To solve this problem, we created a flexible structure and provided access to high school diplomas. With this arrangement, the number of students enrolled in vocational education centers have increased by 64 percent in one year.

 

We have expanded the structure by including those who have already graduated from Vocational Education Centers. Nearly 30 thousand of our masters that graduated before has applied for the remedial training program. Approximately 20 thousand masters completed the program and received the "Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School Diploma". 433 of our masters received high school diplomas in Bursa for the first time"