Vocational and Technical Education Development Cooperation Protocol Signed

With the "Vocational and Technical Education Development Cooperation Protocol" signed between the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of National Education, it is aimed to employ approximately 25 thousand people studying in vocational high schools in the tourism sector.

At the signing ceremony held at Atatürk Cultural Center, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said, “As the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, we have been working in cooperation with various institutions and organizations in different fields for a long time, especially considering the needs of the sectors. Within the scope of the studies we carry out with this contemporary governance approach, today we are taking a very meaningful and meaningful step for both our education world and our tourism sector.” said.

Minister Ersoy stated that as the Ministry, in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education, they have formalized the issues they have been working on meticulously for a while in order to ensure the coordination of the developments in the sector and the education system, and continued as follows:

“As two ministries, we started such a study in order to both meet the qualified workforce needs of the sector and contribute to employment. After the protocol, I hope we will start to take the necessary steps in a short time by including our professional organizations and hotels with sub-protocols. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our esteemed sector representatives, especially our Minister of National Education, for their valuable contributions and meaningful support.”

“Turkey Has Become A Country With Tourism Diversity Today”

Pointing out that Turkey continues to increase its potential in the field of tourism with each passing day, Minister Ersoy said, “Today, Turkey is not only a tourist attraction with its beaches, but also a country with a very strong tourism diversity with its rich culture, ancient history and cities that are the cradle of civilization. has arrived. As one of the countries that implemented the first safe tourism program in the world, even in the global crisis environment and pandemic conditions, we continue to keep the tourism sector alive. This has been a very successful program and has been and continues to be implemented by the whole world.” he said.

Mehmet Nuri Ersoy underlined that the effective management and development of this existing tourism potential is closely related to the correct evaluation of human resources, and said:

“In this respect, the protocol we signed today is a very important step in terms of both our tourism and education planning. Within the framework of the protocol, I hope we will start the first implementation in Istanbul in close cooperation with the sector. Then, we will expand this project, starting from the regions where the tourism sector is concentrated. Within the scope of the said protocol, it will be ensured that the education programs and training materials related to vocational training centers will be updated in line with the demands of the tourism sector. Thus, the schools determined by the provincial directorates of national education and the selected hotels will work in cooperation, our dear students will continue their vocational training at their workplaces, and the participation of hotel employees in education will be increased by spreading the applications of vocational training center programs, especially in the tourism sector.

On the other hand, within the scope of this program, we aim to introduce and increase participation in journeyman, mastership and master trainer exam and certification activities of those working in the tourism sector by providing in-service training for the managers, teachers and sector representatives working in the schools within the scope of the protocol. In addition, within the scope of this study, the most important aim is to ensure the employment of field students after their graduation. I wish the Professional Cooperation Protocol to be beneficial once again, and the biggest feature of this protocol is that it is not limited to students. Every age group, whether at the age of 40 or 50, can benefit from this vocational training course of our Ministry of National Education if they have stepped into this sector. He takes his vocational training and steps into our sector in the form of trained personnel and qualified personnel. In this respect, many programs are very useful.”

Minister Ersoy stated that with the curriculum change, students studying in tourism vocational high schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education are now able to learn 3 different foreign languages, and continued his words as follows:

“English and Russian became compulsory languages. Any of them, such as French, Chinese, Arabic and German, became elective courses as a third language. Even if students are not going to do tourism in the future, it is very important for them to learn a language for their career. The second point is that students, together with their teachers, do their practical internships in hotels on the dates needed by the industry, that is, between April 15 and October 15. In other words, the moment the student steps into the school, he begins to study with the hotel chain associated with the protocol. He takes his summer internships at the relevant hotel for 4 years during the season and meets all the department managers. The hotel already wants to hire the student it has trained at the end of their education. Hopefully, we are in talks with universities for a similar application. We have a request to change the curriculum of tourism departments in some universities. Students graduating from tourism vocational high schools and Anatolian technical schools will also study at the university with the scholarships of the hotels they are affiliated with, and after four years of education, the general managers and assistants of the future will be trained. Thanks to this long-term training program, Turkey will now become a country that exports general managers in tourism in the world. This is something very important.”

“We Are Establishing Vocational Training Center in Hotels”

Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer also stated that one of their top priorities is to strengthen vocational education, and that vocational education, which has been problematic for years, is now recovering, standing up and looking to the future with hope.

Pointing out that one of the most critical steps in vocational education is the paradigm shift, Minister Özer said:

“That paradigm shift is that. While employers and sector representatives were waiting for vocational education graduates to come to their senses before, as the Ministry of National Education, we said to the sector representatives, 'Let's renew vocational education together. Let's update the curriculum together. Let's plan our students' skills training and internships in business together. Let's design together the on-the-job and professional development trainings, which are very critical for vocational education and allow our teachers to follow up-to-date information and technologies. At the same time, experts in the sector should come to our schools and give lessons. Let's give scholarships to successful students. Most importantly, students prioritize employment after graduation, as all representatives of the sector know their education processes.' Therefore, this process, which we are trying to draw with its rough lines, is one of the most important processes related to strengthening the link between education, production and employment.”

Minister Özer explained that they took the first and most comprehensive step in this field with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and that they made a serious curriculum change in tourism programs in vocational and technical Anatolian high schools within the framework requested by the Ministry with sector representatives. He stated that education can be given in 3 languages.

Minister Özer mentioned that within the framework of sub-agreements made with hotels under the coordination of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, students start to receive wages starting from the 9th grade, and on the one hand, priority is given to employment, and on the other hand, the fact that students have money in their pockets while they are studying at high school and can meet their own needs is an important milestone in the rise of vocational education. stressed the point.

Expressing that they have put on the second wing of the one-wing cooperation on the vocational and technical field that they started with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism today, Minister Özer noted that vocational training centers are the places where traditional journeyman, apprenticeship and mastership trainings are held.

Drawing attention to the importance of vocational training centers, Minister Özer said, “Students go to school once a week. All other days they study business and skills. Therefore, it constitutes a type of training in which sector representatives are directly involved in the training process. Within the framework of the vocational education law numbered 3308, the students here are paid at least one third of the minimum wage for 4 years. At the same time, they are insured by the state against work accidents and occupational diseases.” shared information.

Minister of National Education Mahmut Özer stated that the employment rate of graduates of vocational and technical Anatolian high schools is over 50 percent, and said:

“The employment rate of graduates of vocational training centers in the fields they receive education is around 88 percent. It has a high employment rate. Because the process is managed together with the sector. The sector wants to employ a student who has worked for 4 years and followed his professional development personally when he graduates. When the students in the vocational education center graduate, the employment rate in companies and enterprises where they receive skills training in the business is 75 percent. In other words, three-quarters of those who graduate from the vocational education center continue to be employed in the place where they received their education for 4 years. Today, we are extending this to the tourism sector with our Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and we will carry out the first pilot application in Istanbul by signing this protocol. There will no longer be vocational training centers in separate buildings in Istanbul. We are establishing vocational training centers in hotels. We have never started foreign language education in vocational training centers before. Vocational training centers have become a type of education that is actively used to meet the human resource needs in industrial areas. For the first time, a segment rise is taking place in vocational training centers, we will provide a foreign language-based education. This will be a very important opening in the context of cooperation. Hopefully, the rhetoric of 'I can't find the person I'm looking for' that we've been hearing since the floor number application will now be history.”

Also in the program, Governor of Istanbul Ali Yerlikaya, Chairman of the Board of the Turkish Hoteliers Association (TÜROB) Müberra Eresin and Chairman of the Board of the Turkish Hoteliers Federation (TÜROFED) Sururi Çorabatır made speeches.