The Linkage between Vocational Education and Labor Market in Turkey: Employability and Skill Mismatch

Year 2020, Volume: 28 Issue: 2, 558 - 569, 20.03.2020

Mahmut Özer H. Eren Suna

https://doi.org/10.24106/kefdergi.704878

Cited By: 15

Abstract

Countries structure their vocational education and training (VET) systems based on the demands of labor market. As the changes in labor market directly affect VET, VET is the education type which needs transformation in education system to the greatest extent. Although performance of VET depends on the relationship between VET and labor market, this fact is ignored in most countries. Under this circumstance, horizontal or vertical skill mismatches arise predominantly in labor market. When this strong interaction between education and labor market is ignored, policies to eliminate the skill mismatch focus only on VET, issues in labor market are neglected, consequently, problems cannot be solved and on the contrary, these problems become consistent. In this study, VET in Turkey is reviewed in employment and skill mismatch perspectives. Despite the high employment ratios of VTAH graduates, they are employed mostly out of their field of education, therefore, it is seen that horizontal skill mismatch is widespread. On the other hand, skill surpluses in labor market attract a considerable deal of attention. It is suggested to restructure the location and training capacity of VTAHs considering supply-demand balance. Besides, it is suggested to restructure VTAHs in such a way that they concentrate more on academic skills rather than occupationally specific skills, so VET can be more flexible and increase mobility. In addition, in VTCs, where apprenticeship training is provided through a strong collaboration with labor market, it is observed that skill mismatch is at quite low level and it is suggested to increase the capacity of VTCs due to high demand.

Keywords

vocational and technical education, employment, skill mismatch, labor market

Türkiye’de Mesleki ve Teknik Eğitim ile İş Piyasası Arasındaki Bağlantı: İstihdam ve Beceri Uyuşmazlığı

Abstract

Ülkeler mesleki ve teknik eğitim (MTE) sistemlerini iş piyasalarının taleplerine göre düzenlemektedir. İş piyasalarındaki değişim MTE’yi doğrudan etkilediği için eğitim sistemi içerisinde en büyük dönüşüme uğrayan eğitim türü de MTE’dir. MTE’nin performansı iş piyasasının MTE ile ilişkisine doğrudan bağlı olmasına rağmen çoğu ülkede bu gerçek göz ardı edilmektedir. Bu durumda da iş piyasasında ağırlıklı olarak yatay veya dikey beceri uyumsuzlukları ortaya çıkmaktadır. Eğitim ve iş piyasası arasındaki bu güçlü etkileşim göz ardı edildiğinde beceri uyumsuzluğunu gidermeye yönelik politikalar da sadece MTE’ye odaklanmakta, iş piyasasında mevcut sorunlar görülmemekte, sonuçta sorunlar çözülememekte ve tam tersine sorunlar istikrarlı hale gelmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de MTE istihdam ve beceri uyumsuzluğu açısından ele alınmaktadır. MTAL mezunlarının istihdam oranları yüksek olmasına rağmen ağırlıklı olarak alan dışında istihdam edildikleri, dolayısıyla yatay beceri uyumsuzluklarının yaygın olduğu görülmektedir. Diğer taraftan iş piyasasında beceri fazlalığı dikkat çekmektedir. Mevcut iş piyasasının beceri talepleri göz önüne alarak mesleki ve teknik Anadolu liselerinin (MTAH) lokasyon ve eğitim kapasitesinin arz-talep dengesine göre yeniden yapılandırılması önerilmektedir. Diğer taraftan, MTAH’ların akademik becerilere daha fazla ağırlık verecek şekilde ve mesleki olarak daha spesifik değil, tam tersine mobiliteyi artıracak ve esnek MTE imkanı verilecek şekilde yeniden yapılandırılması önerilmektedir. Ayrıca, iş piyasası ile güçlü iş birliğine sahip çıraklık eğitiminin yapıldığı mesleki eğitim merkezlerinde (MEM) istihdamda beceri uyumsuzluğunun çok düşük seviyede olması, taleplerin yoğunluğu nedeniyle MEM kapasitesinin güçlendirilmesi önerilmektedir.

Keywords

mesleki ve teknik eğitim, istihdam, beceri uyuşmazlığı, iş piyasası

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