Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Turkey – Part 1

This article was first published on the ECCTIS blog

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is a hot topic in Turkey. As the local and global economies increase in competitiveness, the need for a labour force equipped with appropriate, quality-assured qualifications to meet the demands of the business environment also increases. The Turkish Ministry of National Education and Council of Higher Education (the bodies responsible for TVET in Turkey) are only too aware of this, and between 2003 and 2012 have invested over €9billion in developing the sector. This year alone, the Ministry of National Education is anticipated to allocate 37% of its total investment budget directly into the TVET sector. Resulting from this continual and substantial investment has been the development of an established and wide-reaching TVET system which delivers education and training in more than 130 occupations.

Much of the development of the TVET sector in Turkey has been attributed to the successful cooperation between educational institutions, schools and the social partners, which has ultimately eased the transition of TVET students from the institution to the work place. No wonder, then, that as part of their continuing work to enhance mobility through improved recognition and understanding of qualifications, the ECCTIS Ltd Research & Consultancy Team want to learn more.

Consequently, they are participating in a Study Visit to the Turkish province of Mersin at the end of May (funding provided under the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission). The premise of the visit is to explore themes around the valuable contribution of partnerships to education, and will be attended by a range of stakeholders from across Europe including the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the UK. During the week-long visit, participants will learn about the Turkish TVET system, initiatives of the local authority to promote and help improve TVET in the province, and examples of good practice in cooperation between institutions and social partners. Of particular relevance to the work of Research & Consultancy will be learning about the ways in which partnerships between government, private institutions and social partners have aided the recognition of TVET qualifications in Turkey, and how this has this helped increase the uptake of qualifications by students and the appreciation of qualifications by employers and industry.

With so many stakeholders attending from across Europe, the study visit is bound to be both interesting and insightful. Watch this space for reflections on the visit!

May 2013

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