A Hope for Decent and Sustainable Livelihoods and Social Cohesion in Türkiye: "I’m Trained for My Job" Program
13 May 2024
İzmir (ILO News) - The closing of the "I'm Trained for My Job" Program, funded by the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) of the US Government and implemented jointly by the International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for Türkiye and the Youth Deal Cooperative, was held on 9 May in İzmir.
Business and training experts, project coordinators, beneficiary employers and employees from various sectors, as well as representatives of municipalities, the private sector, international organizations and NGOs, came together for the event to discuss the onsite experiences and successes gained from the “I’m Trained for My Job” Program, as well as the lessons learned and the potential for future collaborations. Among the topics on the agenda were the positive contribution of the programme to institutionalization, the importance of social dialogue, the currently applicable labour and decent work policies, the status of young people in the labour market, the impact of on-the-job training on employee retention, the positive effects of premium supports on firms and their employees, the employment of disadvantaged groups and Türkiye’s status in green jobs.
Implemented in İstanbul, İzmir and Adana, as the metropolitan areas hosting the three largest migrant populations, the Program “I'm Trained for My Job” has promoted social cohesion and contributed greatly to the economic integration of Syrians under Temporary Protection and Turkish citizens by ensuring their access to on-the-job training programmes from the first day of their employment. Carried out jointly by the ILO Office for Türkiye and the Youth Deal Cooperative with funding from the US Government, the initiative has promoted cooperation and integration between local communities and refugees, and has achieved significant results.
The programme has seen the provision of support of various kinds to participants in Adana, İstanbul and İzmir, including employer outreach, activities promoting registered employment, financial support incentives for employers and employees, and workplace monitoring. Between November 2023 and May 2024, 485 people were placed in jobs and were offered sector-specific on-the-job training and orientation programmes.
The comprehensive training, employment support and financial incentives provided by the “I’m Trained for My Job” programme have contributed not only to individual employment, but also to making the Turkish labour market more inclusive and flexible and can be considered an important step towards social integration and economic development.
About the Youth Deal Cooperative
The Youth Deal Cooperative is a non-profit cooperative operating in the fields of scientific research, development and education. The İzmir-based cooperative has been active since February 2015.
It is a member of the New Generation Cooperatives Society at a national level, and a member of the Youth Committee of the International Cooperative Alliance at a global level.
The cooperative aims to support disadvantaged groups in gaining access to employment, livelihoods and socio-economic rights, and to disseminate its egalitarian, democratic and sustainable values through capacity building and research activities to this end.
