Ömer Karadeniz, Chairman of the Plastic Industrialists Federation (PLASFED), draws attention to the serious issue of qualified employment in our country’s industry: “The problem of qualified employment, one of the biggest challenges facing Turkish industry, has still not been solved. If this issue is not addressed in the near future, our industry will face serious danger. Urgent measures must be taken and actions should be initiated without hindering employment and production. Our time is seriously narrowing every day,” he said.
The Issue of Qualified Employment Has Still Not Been Resolved
Addressing the need for more steps to be taken towards solving the qualified employment issue, Karadeniz stated, “Looking at the present day, the number of university graduates in our country is quite high. Thanks to many private universities, our youth can choose the department they want and receive education. However, many of these young individuals find themselves either unemployed or working in completely unrelated fields upon completing their university education. The fact that our future leaders, who will take over our businesses and contribute more to the national economy, are lacking any qualifications and will be unable to realize this potential is a serious issue for the future and continuity of the industry. The main problem is that many young people in our country are not only unemployed but are also in a position where they cannot be employed,” he said.
The Importance of Vocational Schools is Increasing Daily
Stating that we have educational institutions that will ensure our youth become qualified individuals in the future, Ömer Karadeniz emphasized, “We have vocational schools that will attract the interest of our youth in the industry and will turn them into qualified individuals. As industrialists, we recognize that the importance of our vocational schools is increasing day by day. We convey this awareness to our youth, emphasizing it at seminars, meetings, in written and visual media, and on every platform. When we look at developed societies in terms of industry today, we see that the main driving force behind high levels of welfare is a quality vocational training system. The youth populations of these societies are numerically smaller than ours, but in terms of qualified individuals, they are far superior. To overcome this situation and to become competitive with developed industrial nations, we must support educational institutions that produce qualified individuals,” he said.
It is Essential to Take Joint Steps with Public Institutions to Solve the Problem
Highlighting that as the umbrella organization PLASFED - Plastic Industrialists Federation, they are aware of the importance of a vocational training system that will contribute to the future of the country and that they continue to work in this direction, Ömer Karadeniz remarked, “First and foremost, the problems in education need to be analyzed correctly. If you do not analyze correctly and systematically, the results of the actions you take will always be negative. It is essential that not only we, as industrialists, but also all public institutions, especially relevant educational institutions, recognize that the biggest reason our youth cannot enter the workforce is the lack of qualified labor and take joint steps based on this reason to solve the problem,” he said.
Translated by Artificial Intelligence
