Student Choosing Textile Engineering will get a Scholarship up to Minimum Wage
12 exporters’ unions came together under the leadership of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters’s Association (İTHİB), Istanbul Apparel Exporters’s Association (İHKİB) and Istanbul Leather and Leather Products Exporters’ Association and TTSİS to improve the perception of textile and leather engineering in Turkey in order to ensure that students prefer these departments more, and they initiated a cooperation with the Council of Higher Education (YÖK).
Between the Textile, Apparel, Leather Exporters ‘Associations and Turkey Textile Industry Employers’ Association (TTSİS) and the Higher Education Board (YOK) was signed protocol in Ankara. In the protocol, it was decided to give a scholarship up to minimum wage in the event that the students who were the first 20 thousand in the university exam chose textile engineering department. Candidates with a score between 20 and 50 thousand will receive 70 percent of the net minimum wage as scholarship; and 50-80 thousand will benefit from non-refundable scholarship by 50 percent of the net minimum wage.
Speaking at the protocol ceremony Chairman of the Council of Higher Education Prof. Dr. Yekta Saraç said: “Within the scope of the protocol, graduates with high skill proficiency will be introduced to the business world and at the same time important contributions will be made to the development of university-industry cooperation. If the students who prefer Textile and Leather Engineering meet the necessary conditions, a scholarship will be given student by the valuable sector representatives and employment guarantee will be provided. Collaboration with our sector representatives will continue in order to increase workplace training for our students and to develop internship training.”
The protocol was signed by İTHİB President Ahmet Öksüz on behalf of the textile industry, with Mustafa Gültepe, President of İHKİB and Mustafa Şenocak, Chairman of the Leather Industry.
“We believe that interest in textile engineering will increase“
Öksüz, Gültepe and Şenocak made a statement about these issues.
“The common and most important issue of the three industries of the textile sector, which employs approximately one million people and signed nearly 30 billion dollars in exports in 2018, stems from the lack of qualified labour force. For this reason, educated workforce is vital to increase the value-added production and productivity. On the other hand, production technologies in the world are rapidly evolving to Industry 4.0. On one hand it is needed to integrate new technologies into existing infrastructure; while on the other hand industry 4.0. based facilities need to be established quickly, in order for Turkey to maintain its competitiveness and the role of playmaker in textile, ready-to wear and leather industry.
There is a need for well-trained engineers to improve efficiency and to bring the sector into compliance with Industry 4.0. However, interest in textile engineering in Turkey is decreasing every year. In 2018, only 228 of 542 places in 13 textile engineering faculties were filled with students. In 2018, when only 3 faculities reached 100 percent occupancy, the most successful student preferring textile engineering ranked in 90.000s. In order to change this negative perception and raise qualified textile engineers, the sector has taken its part by doing its job. We believe that the table, which does not overlap with the future vision of the sector; will cahnge with the protocol signed after one year of preparation and that interest in textile engineering will increase as of this year.”