Although the Turkish plastics industry ranks among the world's leading countries in production and export, one of the biggest obstacles to sustainable growth is the shortage of qualified intermediate labor. Restructuring vocational education in line with the needs of industry is now an unavoidable necessity for both the sector's competitive power and Turkey's manufacturing future.
We state this many times and with pride. As the Turkish plastics industry, we possess the sixth-largest production power in the world and the second-largest in Europe. We are the top-exporting sub-sector within "Chemicals and Chemical Products," which is Turkey's second-highest exporting sector.
However, we must not forget that among the structural problems of our sector—in which I have been involved for over half a century—are the training and employment of qualified intermediate labor.
To draw attention to this issue, we held one of the regular meetings of the Board of Directors of the Aegean Plastics Industrialists Association (EGEPLASDER) at Bornova Mazhar Zorlu Plastics Industry Vocational High School.
Undoubtedly, our aim was to draw attention to this shortage in Izmir, which is among the most important production centers for the plastics and packaging sectors in Turkey. During the visit, hosted by our School Principal Zülküf Yıldız, we evaluated the educational curriculum of the high school, which has been providing education for 28 years, and the demands of our industrialists.
LABOR TO PULL MOLDS IS NEEDED
We bring together our colleagues and the young people aiming to join our sector as intermediate labor at every opportunity. In various settings, we express that we are ready to employ all young people studying polymers and plastics, both in high school and university.
However, solving Turkey's vocational education problem requires an effort far beyond our scale. Unfortunately, our country lacks a vocational education policy coordinated with the business world. Aside from the wrongness of having hundreds of thousands of young unemployed engineers, we do not even have the firms to employ them. However, we are in great need of young labor force to pull molds, operate injection machines, perform blow molding, and process raw materials. The wages we pay these young people are even higher than the salaries paid to engineers. We practically watch over our trained youth with utmost care so they do not go anywhere.
THE VISIONARY PERSPECTIVE OF BROTHER MAZHAR
At this point, we must not fail to commemorate Mazhar Zorlu, our senior and doyen of the sector who passed away in 2004, with mercy. Being the work of Brother Mazhar, the most visionary business person of the Turkish plastics industry, our high school has been contributing to meeting the intermediate labor demand of our Turkish plastics sector since 1998.
Raising the quality of education in our universities and vocational schools stands before us almost as a national issue. Truly, we need to discuss why our republic, which has left 103 years behind, still cannot solve this problem. We must not forget that vocational education holds a vital function in the level of success achieved today by Germany, where practically not a stone was left standing in the 1940s.
As of today, there are 208 state and foundation universities in our country. These institutions graduate hundreds of thousands of young people every year. Even in highly industrialized countries like Germany, there are not this many universities and this many graduates.
THERE IS NO NEED FOR THIS MANY ENGINEERS
Just as we do not need this many engineers, the fact that young people with engineering diplomas work as cashiers in supermarkets is a dramatic waste of human resources. Having finished university, they get their diploma in hand and stand before us, starting to ask, 'When will I become a manager?'
While hundreds of thousands of our young people wandering about cannot find jobs, we are looking for intermediate labor. Today, the common characteristics of countries cited as examples in the world with their economy and level of development are the importance they give to intermediate labor and their high-standard vocational education systems. Therefore, as plastics industrialists, we take care of the young people studying both at Mazhar Zorlu Plastics Vocational High School and at Ege University Ege Vocational School Polymer Technologies Department like the apples of our eyes.
Because we know very well that qualified production can only be achieved with a qualified labor force.
This content has been translated using artificial intelligence technology.