Project By Turkish Presidency Gets Global Recognition

An internship initiative in Turkey launched by the country's presidency has been marked as an exemplary project by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Conducted by the Presidential Office of Human Resources, the Internship Mobilization Project has excelled at increasing young people's confidence in public bodies, strengthening the bond between them and attracting young talent to these institutions, said the report.

Prepared by an inter-ministerial effort under the Presidential Human Resources Office in cooperation with volunteer employers from the private sector, the project seeks to provide final-year undergraduate students with government internship positions amid the novel coronavirus pandemic that has severely limited such opportunities.

As part of the project, 14,115 university students were sent internship offers so far with the participation of a total of 231 employers from the public and private sectors. Of these proposals, 4,382 were accepted.

The project was put into practice this year and is to be expanded to cover all public institutions in 2021 upon a decree by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The OECD report -- titled Governance for youth, trust and intergenerational justice: fit for all generations? -- was prepared with the cooperation of 49 countries in total, including 37 OECD members, one candidate country, five partner countries and six non-member countries.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Presidential Office of Human Resources was included in the OECD's Public Governance Committee, as well as its Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee and its Education Policy Committee, in order to integrate it into international efforts on public governance and labor, to hold technical consultations with other countries and internationally promote successful domestic initiatives.

Employment, Labour and Social Affairs with the aim to integrate international work carried out in the field of public governance and employment, to exchange ideas on technical issues with other countries and to promote successful practices in the country on international platforms.

It also noted that the office actively participated in meetings and events organized by these committees and in discussions on policy practices in these areas. It reportedly also provided opinions and recommendations on policy texts and research reports, contributed to "evidence and data-based policy-making" work by the OECD, and continues to share its experience and work in this area on these platforms as an important stakeholder.

*Writing by Merve Berker -