ITO President Avdagiç calls for "apprenticeship": More children should be directed

Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) President Şekib Avdagiç said, "We are training 6 children in vocational high schools, and only one of these 6 children is working in their profession. If the young people we train are still not working in the profession they were educated for, we need to review our system."

In his statement on the subject, Avdagiç drew attention to the importance of Vocational Training Centers (MESEM) regarding employment.

Stating that as many young people as possible should be directed to the MESEM process, Şekib Avdagiç noted that this would reduce negative processes that emerge in academic paths, such as "not embracing school" and "failing grades."

ONE DAY AT SCHOOL, 4 DAYS AT WORK

Arguing that when structuring the education system for the coming period, it should be prioritized according to the business world as MESEM first, then vocational high schools, and then classical high schools, Avdagiç stated that there are important efforts underway to update the vocational high school concept to meet the expectations of both young people and the market, and that these should be accelerated.

ITO President Avdagiç emphasized the role of MESEMs, which allow children to return to the old apprentice-journeyman-master process rather than conventional high school education, enabling them to attend school one day a week and work in workplaces for 4 days.

'DAILY AMOUNT INCREASED TO 850 TL'

Avdagiç said, "The MESEM system is suitable for the expectations of the business world and can be made even more efficient with some minor adjustments. In Europe, 50-55 percent of those who graduate from vocational high schools work in the field they graduated from, while in Turkey, this rate is at a low level of 16 percent. We are training 6 children in vocational high schools, and only one of these 6 children is working in their profession. If the young people we train are still not working in the profession they were educated for, we need to review our system."

Expressing that while directing more young people to the MESEM process, young people should also be trained as the personnel the market needs and hold onto life, Avdagiç reminded that the government has introduced significant incentives for vocational training.

Avdagiç provided the information that, "The daily amount of the pocket money paid to vocational and technical education graduates who participate in the On-the-Job Training Program in the field they graduated from has been increased from 654 liras to 850 liras."

'THE GREATEST STATUS IS BEING A SKILLED PROFESSIONAL'

Şekib Avdagiç stated that there is a structure where competent people who receive vocational training can earn a good income, and that university and vocational training should not be competing alternatives to each other.

Avdagiç said, "I was with a professor at a meeting in Sweden. The subject of families came up. He said, 'My son is a very good stonemason.' A university professor is talking about how good his son is as a stonemason. We need to get rid of this complex. The greatest status is being a skilled professional itself. There cannot be a ranking of status and prestige among professions. We must teach this to our young people and create this perception. If our child is studying in higher education, their path is already open; there are over 200 universities. University and vocational training should not be structures that harm each other in terms of training competent personnel."