ANKARA (ILO News) – Numan Özcan, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Türkiye hosted today Nurettin Özdebir, President of the Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO), M. Niyazi Akdaş, Chairman of the ASO 1st Organized Industrial Zone (ASO 1. OSB) and Dr. Ruhi Kılıç, Director of the ASO 1. OSB Continuous Education Center (ASO-SEM) whereby they signed the implementation agreement to kick off the activities under ILO’s Work-Based Learning Programme (WBL), and open the Information Center for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ankara.

The WBL programme, locally known as İŞMEP, develops the skills of Syrians under temporary protection and Turkish citizens by matching them to formal jobs (on-the-job training) while enhancing their vocational skills through off-the-job trainings. On-the-job training will be provided by employers at the workplaces, while off-the-job training will be offered by ASO-SEM. Through this intervention, jobseekers gain access to vocational training and formal employment simultaneously, whereas the employers benefit from a more qualified workforce.

The WBL programme kicked off first in Gaziantep in July 2021 and it continues to be rolled out in more provinces across Turkey in order to enable at least 2,000 beneficiaries to gain more adequate skills and access sustainable jobs. Following Ankara, ILO will launch WBL programmes in Adana, Bursa, Denizli and İstanbul.

“We believe that skills development, the main target of our WBL programme, plays a crucial role in promoting the decent work opportunities for jobseekers and in increasing access to the qualified workforce employers are seeking. Through the BILMER in Ankara, we will further advance social justice by promoting formal employment and decent job opportunities for all.” said Numan Özcan, Director of the ILO Office for Türkiye.

In addition to the WBL, the Information Center (locally known as BILMER), is opening its doors in partnership with ASO as well. BILMERs deliver guidance and counselling to tradesmen and craftsmen and their employees to increase their awareness of the rules and regulations governing the labour market, as well as work permit application support and referrals to training and employment opportunities.

“We are happy to join our forces with ILO in the framework of the WBL programme and Ankara Information Center (BİLMER) to raise a qualified workforce with skills development and to provide up-to-date information on the labour market to employers and jobseekers. We believe our activities will contribute to formalization efforts in Ankara and provide jobseekers with new and decent job opportunities and further improve our labour market.” said Nurettin Özdebir, President of ASO.

“Vocational and technical trainings to be provided in cooperation with the ILO will offer invaluable opportunities to train highly qualified technical staff who are equipped with the qualifications and skills sought in the industry and who will adapt easily to their new workplaces. It will also be remarkably beneficial to expand and develop this program, which provides important opportunities for jobseekers” said M. Niyazi Akdaş, Chairman of the ASO 1. OSB.

ILO has opened BILMERs in Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Konya, Adana and Mersin in partnership with the Unions of Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen (ESOBs) and municipalities to support the formalization of Syrian and Turkish micro-businesses and employees in these cities. In the coming weeks, additional Information Centers will also be opened in Bursa, Hatay and three centers in İstanbul. By the end of 2022 at least 11 BILMERs will be offering services to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Turkey.

These interventions are part of the project “Promoting Decent Work for Syrians under Temporary Protection and Turkish Citizens”, funded by the Federal Republic of Germany through the KfW Development Bank and implemented by the ILO Office for Türkiye in coordination with the Directorate-General for International Labour Force (DGILF) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MoLSS).

For more info:

kfwproject@ilo.org