NNN - NETnotNEET Need analysis Turkey - Mardin 1. Demographical overview NEET rate (%) including gender details and migration background and special needs (if any) Turkey still has the highest proportion of NEETs among 15-29 year-olds across OECD countries: 35% compared with an OECD average of 16%. The proportion of NEETs is more than twice as high among women than men: 50% of women are NEET compared with 20% of men. Only a third of 15-29 year-olds in Turkey continued their studies after completing lower secondary education, in contrast with the OECD average of about 68%. Early school leaving rate (%) including gender details, migration background and special needs (if any) Youth unemployment rate (%) including gender details and migration background and According to our legislation, even if the school absenteeism is continuos, it is not the cause of severance. Therefore, children leaving the school without completing their age are seen as being registered. This makes the detection of what extent is the dropout impossible and the situation harder to resolve. School leaving is one of the important issues of education system in Turkey and it is limited to situations that leave the school at eight years compulsory education in primary schools. Eight year primary education started in the period 1997-1998, covers children aged 6-14.It is compulsory for boys and girls and free in state schools for all citizens. Enrollment rates was a total of 8.2%, for males 90.9% and 85.2% for females. This improvement is important. Studies show that although students participate in the school register,a certain percentage leave school for various reasons. Clear, comprehensive and comparable definitions do not exist in the international arena relating to school leaving. Differences in definitons focus on how long and why the student remains seperate from the system, what ages and grade levels he/she leaves school. However,in the international arena,school leaving, in general,is defined as termination of a diploma. In Turkey, a definition entitled primary school drop-out do not exist within the existing legal framework. The reason for this is that primary education is compulsory and school absenteeism is defined instead. Within the existing legal framework, the students are also given when to cut their relationship with primary schools. Youth Unemployment Rate in Turkey decreased to 16 percent in December of 2013 from 17.40 percent in November of 2013. Youth Unemployment Rate in Turkey averaged 17.90 Percent from 2005 until 2013, reaching an all time high of 24.30 Percent in April of - 1 -
special needs (if any) 2009 and a record low of 14.80 Percent in November of 2011. Youth Unemployment Rate in Turkey is reported by the Eurostat. Age of NEETs 18-24 Educational level of NEETs In last year s, virtually all children aged between 5 and 14 were enrolled in education in Turkey (95%). The enrolment rate of 15-19 year-olds has more than doubled in the last decade from 30% in 2001 to 64% in 2011 but is still well below the OECD average of 84%. The further lengthening of compulsory education from 8 to 12 years in 2012 is likely to increase participation in education in the future. Tertiary attainment levels in Turkey have improved strongly over the last decade, but they are still low compared with other OECD countries.14% of the adult population had attained a tertiary qualification against an OECD average of 32%. 2. Background report 2.1 Please describe the phenomenon of NEET in your Country and in your city: trends of NEET phenomenon in the last 5 years (before and during the economic crisis) Turkey has the highest proportion of young people neither in employment nor in education or training (NEETs) among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, according to the OECD's recently issued annual education report Education At a Glance 2013. Thirty-five percent of Turkey's young people aged 15-29 are NEETs compared with the OECD average of 16 percent, the report says.the report shows that in Turkey women are twice as likely to be NEETs as men. Fifty percent of young Turkish women are NEETs, compared with 20 percent of the country's young men; this may reflect large numbers of women who don't work or study because they are raising families and responsible for household tasks, the report says. According to the report, Turkey's low level of educational attainment makes the transition from school to work challenging for young adults, particularly those who lack upper secondary education. Only a third of young people aged 15-29 in Turkey continued their studies after completing lower secondary school in 2011, in contrast with the OECD average of about 68 percent. At the same time, young adults with a university degree found it difficult to match their recently acquired skills with the needs of the Turkish labor market, the report says. The share of employed university-educated youths has dropped 8 percentage points since the start of the financial crisis, from 62 percent in 2008 to 54 percent in 2011, falling more than the OECD average of 5 percentage points. The number of college-educated NEETs increased in Turkey between 2008 and 2011 with a rise of 3 percentage points, similar to the OECD average of 2 percentage points - 2 -
main causes of NEET phenomenon beyond the economic crisis The main cause of Neet is high youth unemployment in our country. Acoording to many research, our country has high unemployment numbers in EU countries.this can be caused by a variety of factors, such as: unskilled and no relevant qualifications Geographical factors, such as high rates of local unemployment and geographical unemployment Poor expectations fostered by lack of role models and high unemployment Recession. Lack of available education and training programmes. Education and training programmes that are not suitable. Unwillingness or poor information about available training and education programmes features and related comments of NEET people (sex, any migration background, educational level, special needs, and any other social issues) The main feature of NEET people in our country is that they have insufficient perspective for their career in their future lifes. In this point, job consultancy companies and career development centers have big importance to increase their personal development. But it is in the first phases in popularized in all over the country. Another important issue is that big part of NEET population has migration background. With years, there is gradual migration to west and developed cities from east cities of Turkey for working.with some important steps and policies taken by government, the migration rate is decreasing but it is still going on. any other comments (features, needs, and so on) about the different age class - of NEET people 2.2 Please specify the legal framework and important institutions on national, regional and local level which are working to contrast NEET phenomenon, youth unemployment and Early school leaving (ESL). The Turkish Employment Agency (IŞKUR) is the main institution responsible for contributing to the elaboration and implementation of employment policy in Turkey. It is organised throughout the country and provides services through its provincial offices.as from 1980s globalization, technological improvements and information society raised the importance of employment institutions and extended their functions. In order the Institution to have a structure that could follow the developments occurring in technology and labour force in the world as well as in our country, fulfil the missions delivered by modern employment institutions, and implement active labour force programmes; IPJE was abolished and Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) was founded by the Statutory Decree with the date 4.10.2000 and the number 617. Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court abrogated the Statutory Decree with the number 617 through its verdict with the date 31.10.2000, the docket no: 2000/63 and the decree no: 2000/36 and gave a ruling that abrogation verdict would come into force nine months after it was published in the Official Gazette. Nine months duration ended 08.08.2001. Since a new legal regulation could not be made within this duration, the Institution had to deliver its activities without a legal basis. Eventually, the Institution obtained its establishment law through Turkish Employment - 3 -
Agency Law with the number 4904 which was adopted by Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 25.06.2003 and came into force by being promulgated in the Official Gazette with the date 05.07.2003 and the number 25159. By the new law; Turkish Employment Agency established for aiding activities of protecting, improving, generalizing of employment and preventing unemployment, and for executing unemployment insurance services has obtained a structure that enable it to implement active and passive labour force policies alongside its classical services of finding jobs and employees within an extended mission area. A General Council, in which social parties have a majority and representatives of public and universities can also participate, has been formed in order to aid creating the employment policy of Turkey, by adopting an organization model open to participative and social dialogue. Executive Board including representatives of workers, employers, merchants and craftsmen has been formed as the organ of the institution which possesses the supreme administration and decision-making abilities, authority and responsibility. Provincial Employment Boards have been formed so as to improve local initiative in regional development and determine local employment policies in provinces. Establishment of Private Employment Agencies has been permitted so that they render both domestic and overseas activities of finding jobs and employees, and the monopolistic authority of the Institution in this field has been abolished. In order to deliver active services in provinces, Regional Directorates have been abrogated and Provincial Directorates have been constituted. As career vocation, Employment and Vocational Expert has been generated in order the missions of the Institution to be delivered actively and to provide qualified personnel employment. 3. Already implemented policies and projects Please describe policies which are already implemented by public administration. The Turkish government has embarked on several policies that support the observed favorable labor market developments, in particular a better integration of youth and women into formal work. The average annual employment growth in Turkey was 3.3 percent, reflecting the creation of over 4 million new jobs, the report noted. The unemployment rate was 9.2 percent in 2012 and labor force participation and employment rates increased in the post-crisis period, particularly among women In last years, in average there was no substantial change in the employment (43.4 %) and labour force participation (48.3 %) rates, while unemployment rate remained the same (10.3 %) compared to before. Participation by women in the workforce is among the lowest in OECD countries, at 26.9 %.There is a strong gender divide in the labour market partly coinciding with the urban/rural divide with a high concentration of low educated working women in agriculture, unpaid employment and informal activities. Youth unemployment rate was 19.3 % in 2005. The share of persons over 50 is 9.1 % within total employment. The Turkish government and the European Commission are conducting an Employment Policy Review in view of formulating an employment policy in line with the European Employment Strategy. - 4 -
3.1 Please describe public and private services targeted youth and NEET to prevent and contrast NEET phenomenon, youth unemployment and ESL. In Turkey, there are many consultancy firms targetting to help people out of employment and education-training. These companies serve like a bridge between people and related sectors. These firms helps business world who are in need qualified employee and people who are unemployed. The biggest authority in employment area as a public entity is Turkish Employment Agency.The Turkish Employment Agency (IŞKUR) is the main institution responsible for contributing to the elaboration and implementation of employment policy in Turkey. It is organised throughout the country and provides services through its provincial offices. 3.2 Please list and explain concrete projects which are already implemented on these issues. Current Projects Technical Assistance on Alignment in Human Tissues and Cells Turkey Technical Assistance for Recruitment of Future Blood Donors Environment and Climate Regional Accession Network (ECRAN) Technical Assistance on Mental Health Care and Drug Addiction Treatment Services in Prisons Technical Assistance and Supervision for Bulancak Water and Waste Water Project Technical Assistance for Building the Capacity of EU Affairs in the Governorates Technical Assistance on Continuation of the Jean Monnet Scholarship Programme Technical Assistance for the Supervision of Construction of Ordu Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) and Retrofitting of Kumbaşı WWTP Technical Assistance and Supervision for Siverek Wastewater Project Beneficiary: Siverek Municipality Technical Assistance for Improving the Quality of Public Employment Services Operation Technical Assistance for Potential Operation and Grant Beneficiaries (HRD OP 5.2), Information and Publicity (HRD OP 5.3) Technical Assistance for Implementation of Human Resources Development Operational Programme (HRD OP 5.1 Project) Technical Assistance to Support the Implementation of the Rural Development Sector Programme, northern part of Cyprus 4. Biggest and urgent needs - Conclusion 4.1 Please list and explain the biggest and urgent needs which can be met by public authorities related to the NEET phenomenon. *Government should support business owners who previously young and unemployed people *Firms employing workers having family responsibilities should be supported. *Employees who accept low salary should have some of their expenses covered *The employment and youngs must be subsidized. *Financial should be made available to firms to cover their equipment needs *A job protection fund should be created to support employment all over the Turkey. - 5 -
4.2 Please list and explain the biggest and urgent needs which can be met by VET system related to the NEET phenomenon. Students in Turkey may choose vocational high schools after completing the 8-year-long compulsory primary education. Vocational high school graduates may pursue 2 year-long polytechnics or may continue with a related tertiary degree. Municipalities in Turkey also offer vocational training. The metropolitan municipality of Istanbul, the most populous city in Turkey, offers year long free vocational programs in a wide range of topics through ISMEK,an umbrella organization formed under the municipality. 4.3 Please list and explain the biggest and urgent needs which can be met by the school system related to the NEET phenomenon. Students: Turkey has made significant improvements in PISA mathematics and science assessments, but remains below the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science. The government has worked to improve the participation of children in education, but participation rates in early childhood education and care are low compared to the OECD average. Turkey has a higher-than-average proportion of underperforming students, and academic achievement is particularly low amongst disadvantaged students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. System-level policies, such as the use of academic selection to select and sort students into specific pathways at an early age, hinder equity. The transition into upper secondary education and tertiary education is also highly selective. Graduation rates in upper secondary education and tertiary education for both academic and vocationally oriented programmes are below the OECD average, but they have increased significantly since 2005, and reforms have been introduced at both levels. Institutions: While schools and their learning environments face many challenges, including a population influx from rural to urban areas, Turkish students have a positive view of their teachers and learning environments. The capacity of school leaders and teachers to respond to school needs can be limited by weak initial education and training and teachers' lack of experience, as well as by the lack of flexibility accorded to schools within the governance structure. At both system and school levels, evaluation and assessment tools are used to understand quality in terms of compliance with central regulations rather than for student improvement. Recent strategies are aimed at a more student-centred approach for improvement. Governance and funding: Turkey has a highly centralised governance structure where education policy is steered by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) and, at the tertiary level, by the Council of Higher Education (YÖK). Schools have little autonomy and limited capacity to respond to their needs. Education is publicly funded, but schools can receive contributions from parents through their school-parent associations. The central and provincial governments are responsible for personnel and financial management of schools. Although overall funding has increased in the past decade, data suggests that primary and secondary education are underfunded compared to other OECD countries. Tertiary institutions have more autonomy than schools to address their needs, but central authorities oversee funding and student entrance exams for tertiary institutions. Key policy issues The proportion of the population below age 15 in Turkey is one of the highest among OECD countries; it is very important to ensure that these young people complete their education and are well prepared for the labour force and further learning. Improvements have been made, but both quality and equity remain a challenge. Turkey has various priorities to address, - 6 -
including improving equity between regions and urban and rural areas; addressing the needs of disadvantaged students; preparing quality teachers and school leaders; improving access to and completion of upper secondary education, vocational education and training (VET), and tertiary education; strengthening links to the labour market; and adequately funding the education system. Recent policy responses Many recent reforms have been supported by international organisations, in certain cases beginning as pilot projects designed to transform national education policy. The Basic Education Programme (1997) and the Secondary Project (2006-11), both with the World Bank, aimed to improve quality of education at these different levels. The Master Implementation Plan (2001-05) included multiple projects by UNICEF to improve both equity and quality of the education system. Initiatives in VET and tertiary education have been developed with the European Union to improve alignment with European standards. However, evaluations of certain projects indicate that not all targets or objectives were met and that it is difficult to transform pilot projects into nationwide policy 4.4 Please list and explain the biggest and urgent needs which can be met by Employment service related to the NEET phenomenon. Turkish Employment Agency established for aiding activities of protecting, improving, generalizing of employment and preventing unemployment, and for executing unemployment insurance services has obtained a structure that enable it to implement active and passive labour force policies alongside its classical services of finding jobs and employees within an extended mission area. A General Council, in which social parties have a majority and representatives of public and universities can also participate, has been formed in order to aid creating the employment policy of Turkey, by adopting an organization model open to participative and social dialogue. Executive Board including representatives of workers, employers, merchants and craftsmen has been formed as the organ of the institution which possesses the supreme administration and decision-making abilities, authority and responsibility. Provincial Employment Boards have been formed so as to improve local initiative in regional development and determine local employment policies in provinces. Establishment of Private Employment Agencies has been permitted so that they render both domestic and overseas activities of finding jobs and employees, and the monopolistic authority of the Institution in this field has been abolished. In order to deliver active services in provinces, Regional Directorates have been abrogated and Provincial Directorates have been constituted. As career vocation, Employment and Vocational Expert has been generated in order the missions of the Institution to be delivered actively and to provide qualified personnel employment. 4.5 Please list and explain the biggest and urgent needs which can be met by NGO related to the NEET phenomenon. In this point, there are not enough NGO to support employment. Current NGOs just serves as a consultancy company which organizes meeting about the topic. 4.6 Please list and explain the biggest and urgent needs which can be met by Trade Unions related to the NEET phenomenon. - 7 -
Labour legislation differs depending on whether an individual is contractually defined as a worker under the Labour Act 4857 or as a public servant (memur) under the Public Servants Act 657. Most private- and public-sector workers are covered by 4857.12 Freedom to organise is guaranteed by Article 52 of the Turkish Constitution and by the relevant ILO Conventions, which Turkey has ratified. However, it is systematically violated by employers, even though such violations are subject to sanctions under Turkish Criminal Law. Harassment and intimidation of workers who join a union is a common practice among private-sector employers. Legislation enables workers to bring lawsuits for reinstatement, and there have been several court verdicts in favour of the workers. If the judge decides that a worker has been fired because he or she is a member of a union, the worker is also entitled to a unionisation payment. However, court cases are protracted and Article 21 of the Labour Act no 4857 stipulates that if the employer does not reinstate the worker, the worker must pay compensation.15 Employers aggressive tactics pose a major obstacle to union organising, and the most important obstacle to workers joining a union is fear of unemployment. Workers and public servants have different union legislation. Workers were covered by the Trade Unions Act no 2821 (TUA) and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Strike and Lockout Act no 2822 (CBASLA) until Parliament passed the new»law of Unions and Collective Agreements«(LUCA) on 18 October 2012. The two Acts had been constantly criticised by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) as well as by Turkish trade unions for their extremely restrictive provisions on union organising. TUA and CBASLA set the frame for trade union work for almost 30 years and were thus the legally bind ing documents to shape the trade union movement until today. Therefore its provisions are firstly described below. Then the new regulations of LUCA, which still await ratification by the Turkish President, are briefly outlined. First, according to TUA (Article 22), compulsory public notary approval (which cost ca. 20 euros in 2012) was a prerequisite for union membership. Membership of a trade union was acquired by forwarding five copies of the registration form certified by a public notary. This bureaucratic requirement was a financial burden for poor workers, and trade unions were obliged to refund this money in certain cases. Second, the TUA (Article 60) defined twenty-eight sectors in which unions could organise. Each union could only organise the workers of a single sector. The CBASLAreplaced industry-level collective bargaining with workplace level CBAs. A trade union must have received a certification of competency and authorisation from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) before it was eligible to start CBA negotiations. It also had to meet two further conditions: it was to represent at least 10 percent of the total number of employees in the relevant industry and 50 percent plus 1 of the total number of employees at the workplace (Article 12). The ILO Committee of Experts had repeatedly criticised these two requirements as incompatible with the principle of voluntary collective bargaining. The workplace threshold had a dual effect: on the one hand organising workers is a very lengthy process in large workplaces; on the other hand, once this threshold was reached, the union had more bargaining power vis-à-vis the employer. The sectoral threshold became a major impediment in the past three years, because several unions lost members due to unemployment, privatisation, deaths and retirement. This shift has still not been reflected in the official statistics. If it were, several unions would risk losing their authorisation because they would no longer meet the legal requirements for forming a trade union. - 8 -
4.7 Please list and explain the biggest and urgent needs of youth. A youth policy is important to ensure higher levels of human development, as defined by greater human choices. But it is also crucial in order to stave off some potentially crushing demographic challenges. The experience of East Asian countries demonstrates that a large youth cohort can help propel an economy to very high growth rates. However, the experience of other countries, for example in Latin America, has also shown that this positive outcome is by no means guaranteed. Thus it is crucial that the working-age population is indeed working in high value-adding jobs. The favourable ratio of young to old in the coming decades presents opportunities as well as challenges for the government, says the report. Turkey has a 15-year window of opportunity to prepare today s youth for the challenges ahead. After 15 years, about 70% of Turkey s population will be of working age and the working-age population will be increasing, though at a decreasing rate, until 2040. This demographic transition, when population growth rate is declining while the working age population keeps rising is called the demographic window of opportunity. Such an episode is a one-off opportunity in a country s history. If Turkey can give the right opportunities to its youth today, to invest in their education in order to prepare them for higher value-added jobs in the future, the demographic window of opportunity can be utilized effectively. But if this opportunity is mismanaged, unemployment, poverty, and social unrest may lie ahead. During 2002-2006, when the average annual growth rate was 7.5 percent, the unemployment rate stubbornly remained unchanged around 10 percent. Population growth keeps outpacing employment growth and educated young people have difficulty finding jobs. The report has used an unorthodox research approach. It is to a significant extent based on a comprehensive State of Youth Survey which canvassed the views of 3,322 individuals aged 15-24 in 12 different regions of the country. It also included 24 focus group meetings with young people and four focus groups with adults. The report says that special attention must be paid to those youth who are currently invisible. These include the 2.2 million young women who are neither in school nor seeking jobs, the physically handicapped, those who have given up hope of finding a job, juvenile delinquents, and street children. Employment policies should include increasing qualifications of the existing labour force through vocational education and job training; modernizing a number of traditional sectors with the help of high technology; encouraging the development of agro-industries; and boosting the numbers of IT companies run by the young. Of utmost importance is finalizing an employment strategy, the report says. Identifying the specific features, constraints, and opportunities which matter most in terms of employment creation will be crucial. Policies need to be developed in a participatory manner that builds the trust of youth in political institutions, laying the foundations for sustained human development. - 9 -
4.8 Please describe policy, projects and/or actions needed for contrasting and preventing the NEET phenomenon. Priority Axis: EMPLOYMENT Measure 1.1: To promote women s participation in labour force and to increase female employment, including those formerly employed in agriculture Promoting Woman's Employment Operation - I Women in Business Programme Measure 1.2: To increase employment of young people Promoting Youth Employment Operation - I Measure 1.3: To promote registered employment Promoting Registered Employment through Innovative Measures Operation - I Measure 1.4: To increase the quality of public employment services Improving the Quality of Public Employment Services Operation - I Priority Axis: EDUCATION Measure 2.1: To raise awareness about the importance of education, and to increase enrollment rates, particularly of women, with a view to developing human resources and entrance into labour market Increasing School Enrollment Rates Especially For Girls Operation I Measure 2.2: To enhance the content and quality of especially vocational and technical education Improving the Quality of Vocational and Technical Education I 5. Contact Person for more information Name Adress Organisation Murat Kaya Mardin Valilik Binası 3. kat Proje Koordinasyon Merkezi Yenişehir/MARDİN E-mail Muratkaya4444@yahoo.com Telephone +905057724708 Web address - This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. - 10 -