04.02.2025 14:50
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements at the National Employment Strategy Promotion Meeting. Explaining the details of a new work model where university students can work for a salary, Erdoğan said, "We will provide support of 5,415 TL for students who participate in the program for 5 days a month with a daily payment of 1,083 TL, and approximately 15,162 TL for those who participate for 14 days."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the National Employment Strategy Promotion and the Launching Meeting of the İŞKUR Youth Program at the Beştepe National Congress and Culture Center. Erdoğan continued his statements by explaining the details of the employment strategy:
As a nation, we must work and struggle together. There is no doubt that, alongside knowledge and experience, work ethics play a fundamental role in this process. Thanks to our faith and civilizational values, we are a nation that is very sensitive and meticulous in this regard. The command to pay workers their wages before their sweat dries is our most important guide and reference source on this matter.
Since the first day we took office, we have strived to elevate Turkey's economy on four fundamental pillars: production, investment, employment, and export, with the votes and trust of our nation. A prosperous Turkey, where everyone from workers to civil servants, farmers to tradespeople, and engineers to private sector employees feels secure, has become our primary agenda.
"WE HAVE REMOVED THE OBSTACLES IN FRONT OF TURKEY ONE BY ONE" We have removed the obstacles in front of Turkey in areas that directly concern our nation one by one. While accelerating our country's growth and development process, we also ensured the establishment of a fair and competitive order. We have rebuilt a country that is influential in its region and the world, shoulder to shoulder with our nation.
"WE HAVE BROUGHT 833,366 WOMEN INTO THE WORKFORCE" With the job-positive program we launched on February 9, 2024, we have brought 833,366 women into the workforce in one year. Nearly 90% of the beneficiaries of the labor force adaptation program were women, totaling 137,476 people in three months. With the aim of developing a qualified human resource that is knowledgeable in their field, 1,212 people benefited from our qualified workforce training program that we started last month. In 2024, we provided vocational experience to 65,739 people through our on-the-job training program. We see that our workforce has increased by 925,000, reaching 35 million 820 thousand people compared to November 2023. Our unemployment rate has decreased to 8.6% with a drop of 0.4 percentage points.
STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO RECEIVE A SALARY OF 15,162 TL In the last year, we increased our female workforce by 429,000 and our female employment by 397,000. At this point, I would like to emphasize that we have raised our female labor force participation rate by 1.1 points and our female employment rate by 1 point. We are launching our İŞKUR youth program, which we have prepared for university students, as of today. With the İŞKUR Youth Program, our young people will be able to participate in this program in many areas where they can develop themselves while continuing their education at university. They will gain knowledge and experience in various fields such as R&D activities and academic and scientific projects. It will be implemented with a part-time participation model of up to a maximum of 3 days a week. Our students whose household income is below three times the minimum wage will benefit. We will provide support of 5,415 TL for students participating in the program for 5 days a month with a daily payment of 1,083 TL, and approximately 15,162 TL for those participating for 14 days. We will cover the short-term insurance premiums of the participants.
"TRADE WARS WILL ESCALATE" We are following the discussions that have taken place in the United States and Europe in recent weeks. It seems that the trade wars and the arm wrestling among actors aiming to dominate the global system will intensify. As Turkey, we are carefully calculating both the risks and opportunities in a conjuncture open to new challenges. We are taking our steps accordingly. We are reviewing our roadmap in the economy and trade, especially in our labor markets, and aligning our medium and long-term goals with these developments in line with regional and global developments.
SECTORAL AND REGIONAL SKILLS WILL BE PROMINENT The strategy and action plan covering the period of 2025-2028 has been created considering the needs of the labor markets. Under the coordination of our ministry, our relevant institutions, social partners, professional organizations, and all stakeholders of working life have made significant contributions to the strategy document. I wish the 2025-2028 National Employment Strategy and Action Plans to be beneficial for our country and economy.
In the National Employment Strategy, new targets have been set within the framework of 4 fundamental policies. There are 90 action items. The first policy area of our strategy document is to develop green and digital transformation and skill adaptation in labor markets. The skills ecosystem in Turkey will be strengthened. The effects of the green and digital transformation process on working life will be determined by taking into account all opportunities and risks. Fair transition policies will be established. The effectiveness of employment policies aimed at ensuring skill adaptation at the sectoral and regional level will be increased.
"WORK-LIFE BALANCE POLICIES WILL BE REDEFINED" With 24 action items, the participation and employment rates of women, people with disabilities, and the elderly in the labor market will be increased. Gender equality in working life will be strengthened, and the ties of individuals covered by international labor migration will be tightened, taking into account the dynamics of the labor market. Work-life balance policies will be redefined to support the inclusion of women in the labor force.
"THE INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT WILL BE PREVENTED" Efforts will be supported to raise awareness about physical and social accessibility in workplaces to encourage the participation of our citizens with disabilities in the labor force.
The third policy area of our strategy document is to strengthen the relationship between social protection and employment. With the 18 action items in our action plan, the protection of fundamental rights in working life will be ensured, discrimination will be fought, and jobs will be made operational in a manner worthy of human dignity.
The social security system that prevents unregistered employment will be made more inclusive.