“We Never Left A Project Halfway Through”
One of the oldest non-governmental organizations of our country, Knitwear Industrialists Association of Turkey (TRİSAD), serves the knitwear sector since 1994. The association, which broke new grounds in the world with its projects, contributes to the sector by raising qualified personnel with its studies in the field of education.
TRİSAD, which was founded in 1994 by industrialists that constitute the İHKİB Tricotage Professional Committee, which was supported by the sector members, continues to serve the textile industry with its 26-year background. TRİSAD, which has nearly 250 distinguished members, also meets the sector’s need for trained personnel by succeeding a first with Zeytinburnu TRİSAD Textile Technology Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School.
TRİSAD, which is actively proceeding its projects for the textile sector oriented at the field of education, has created the opportunity for the convicts to study under the supervision of master trainers for the first time in the world through the ‘Probation Service’ project. In addition, the project is carried out in the form of providing job guarantees to convicts and bringing them to the sector.
We interviewed TRİSAD’s Chairman of the Board Mustafa Balkuv about the activities of the association, its projects for the future and the problems regarding the sector. Mr. Balkuv stated the following about the “Probation Service Project”:
Since it was a project implemented for the first time in the world, we started our project with the idea that we should stand an example to the whole world. Unfortunately, we could not get support from anywhere, and we have been continuing our project for two years, with the understanding that we have not left any projects we started halfway. We think that this is a very important project. But we couldn’t find a second institution that shared this idea with us.
Can you please tell us about your duration as the TRİSAD’s Chairman of the Board and the activities your association has performed so far?
I have been actively working since the first establishment of TRİSAD. I served as vice president in the first term and as chairman in the second term. Later, I transferred my presidential duties with the understanding that it was a relay race. After four terms, I became the president of the association again. In my first term as the president, we bought the land of our current location and built our building. We share this building owned by Turkey Knitwear Industrialists Association with our friends in the production of socks, who are also our tenants. Our building, which has a closed area of 720 square meters, has seminar and board rooms.
We are currently in the 26th year of our association. Considering the average lifetimes of the companies in Turkey are between eight and ten years, beyond surviving throughout the 25 years, I also think that organizing significant activities by putting on top of each other and bringing the association this far has a different meaning. In the first years of our establishment, we held knitwear exhibitions for the sector. Our exhibitions were welcomed with interest and we received a very serious demand. As a result of these requests, many of our friends participated and became exporters. We have export companies that have consistently grown since that day and have a turnover of between 30 and 80 million dollars a year.
Can you please tell us about the projects you have realized as TRİSAD?
Two years after the establishment of our association, we determined that we were in need of a school where we can provide knitwear training by realizing the country’s and the sector’s need for education. Thus, we applied to the Ministry of National Education (MEB). In the same year, we received the Zeytinburnu TRİSAD Textile Technology Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, which we have committed to complete the deficiencies in accordance with the ‘Development of Vocational Education’ project in return for a 10-year protocol with MEB. We brought our knitwear machines from Germany and Japan to this school. We sent our teachers who do not know knitwear training to Germany and Japan for education. We brought our school to the right point in the first year. Two years ago, we had our school declared as a thematic school. As a result, the school was handed over to the industry by the Ministry of Education for the first time in the history of the Republic of Turkey. The fact that all the authority is combined in me as the representative of the sector, gives us an advantage in managing our school better. Every day, a friend from the Board of Directors serves there. Our school has no deficiencies and problems. Technology is renewed every four or five years, therefore, we also renew the machinery in our school. We are proud of this activity as an association and a sector.
This Project Was Realized for the First Time in the World By TRİSAD
We have another project that we initiated and still continuing by our association for the first time in the world two years ago. Thanks to this project, the prisoners who are on probation are being trained under the supervision of master trainers in the workshops we opened. In addition, our project is carried out in the form of providing employment to the convicts and bringing them to the sector. We are giving them both knitwear training and ready-to-wear clothing training at the workshop that they have allocated for us in the Ministry of Justice’s Istanbul Probation Office building. We also provide a certain amount of food aid to these convicts every month. With this project, which has been going on for two years, we have placed 90 people to jobs. In the beginning, we hoped that this project would also be reflected in the other sectors in Istanbul and other associations also would claim ownership of the project, and establish similar workshops, finally spread out in Turkey. We even started with the thought that we should be an example to the whole world because it is a project that was implemented for the first time in the world. Unfortunately, we could not get support from anywhere and we pursue our project for two years with the understanding that we have not left any projects we started halfway. We think this is a very important project. But we couldn’t find a second institution that shared this idea with us.
Do you currently have other projects of TRİSAD actively continuing?
We have another project that we will actively put into operation in a short time. We told the Mayors of Esenler, Bağcılar, and Zeytinburnu that we have a lot of unemployed people in our region and that we needed staff to work in the sector and we want to cooperate regarding this point. Let’s sign a protocol including a workshop and business-guarantee training similar to the probation project. All investments and expenditures would be undertaken by our association. Thus, we have proposed to contribute to the development of our country. Our Mayors welcomed this project with great interest. We even took over a place with Zeytinburnu Municipality and it is undergoing renovation. We moved our machines to the area of 200 square meters there. We found our supervisory trainers. We interviewed with our trainees. We started our activities with a participation of 20 people. We have another important project that we have been continuing for two years. With the support of Mr. İrfan Yolcular, our Vice President and owner of Nit Örme, our “Free Pattern Training” project continues. We provide our trainees with a certificate approved by TRİSAD.
In addition, we have recently been in contact with Haliç University. We will establish a knitwear workshop for the Department of Fashion and Design soon with the support of TRİSAD. We donated the knitwear machine and we will also install the equipment to complement it. We will organize an official opening ceremony with the participation of Haliç University General Secretary, valuable academicians, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Apart from these, we have been providing free training to pattern operators, the most valuable employees of the industry, for the last two years. In fact, we also provide accommodation to a certain quota of trainees arriving from outside of Istanbul or Turkey.
How do you evaluate the position of the knitwear sector in our country?
We are one of the best countries for knitwear regarding design. We export our products by selling design. We export 300 million knitwear products annually. We export knitwear to 160 countries around the world, with around 72 percent to the European Union countries. We also export 3 billion knitwear products for ready-to-wear clothing. We are contributing to the promotion of our country because it says ‘made in Turkey’ in all of these products. As for the sector, we have achieved a turnover amounted to 2 billion 100 million dollars as of this year. We grew by 9 percent in terms of production figures. On a turnover basis, the growth was 2 percent. The growth in terms of production figures is between 8 to10 percent every year. This year’s growth at this point means that we continue investing. The average value of exports made in Turkey is 1 dollar 10 cents per kilogram. But our exports create 19 dollars per kilogram of added value. In 10 years, we realized net exports of 250 billion dollars to our state. With all this in mind, I hope that the policies towards industry and production are brought forward and the authorities come to be aware of the fact that production should be supported, which is the only development model of this country.
What are the difficulties for the sector that you can mention?
I think that we are much neglected although we promote our country in an outstanding manner. The priority is always given for the construction and automotive industries. But more than 80 percent of our exports are net exports. So we are domestic and national. It is time that we should to be taken into consideration and be noticed. The most important needs of our country are education and employment. On these two subjects, we are working like a foundation, not as an association, and carrying out very important projects with considerable costs.
Interview: Kübra KARACA