Our Dream in Vocational Education is Coming True

• 26.02.2019
• Archive

We took a decisive step with our stakeholders to solve a very significant but ignored problem for years within the education and business life on which we have been working and dreaming as industrialists. As Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI), Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Istanbul Technical University (ITU), we signed “Professional Education Business Union Protocol” with two Ministries.

Through this protocol about which you will read on the following pages, a dream is coming true. I would like to state that this step excites our industrialists and colleagues and everyone is highly motivated to do their best so that the project can be realized in the field.

I would like to express that the reason behind our excitement is not only these signatures, but I want it to be known that this project will continue to grow and develop as it lives. As long as we are determined, persistent and follower of the project, we believe that the success of the industry-vocational educational collaboration project that we signed the last month will enlighten and inspire the other provinces and make contributions.

Mr. Ziya Selçuk, Minister of National Education and Mr. Mustafa Varank, Minister of Industry and Technology provided great support for this project even since the beginning phase. I would like to thank them once again. I would like to state that we will not only thank but also we will make every effort we can to adopt the project, and as Mr. Selçuk, the Minister of Education underlined during the ceremony, “If we do our part in the following the project, we will see that the term of "semi-qualified staff" in vocational and technical education will be removed.”

Within this regard, I would like to remind that as Istanbul Chamber of Industry, we will follow each matches of committee and professional groups and industry sectors specified through a reciprocal and elaborative work until the project reached to the signature phase. While underlying that we will strive to carry out this mission with great honor, we have full trust in the support and contribution to be provided by all of our stakeholders especially the related ministries like they have always done.

We have two important files that might draw your attention except for the cover research in this issue. The first is the “Women in Management” which we prepared for March 8, International Women's Day... Even if the rate of women participation in labor force is very low in our country, our research file reveals that women population in the board of directors of companies is relatively good. Another research file is the research news addressing the point where the efforts to be “domestic and national” in the defense industry in the last 10 years. In this file which covers the assessments of Mr. İsmail Devir, Minister of Defense Industry, you can read about the positive indicators created by defense industry for the future through its ecosystem by penetrating into the veins of the industry.

I congratulate all women on March 8, International Women's Day with the wishes of a world where the equivalence, peace and tranquility requests of all women who bring color to each moment of life with love and devotion come true.

Erdal Bahçıvan
Istanbul Chamber of Industry
Chairman