2023
Country-specific report
Inventory of lifelong guidance systems and practices
PDF version

Inventory of lifelong guidance systems and practices - Türkiye

2023 Update
Please cite as: Cedefop (2023). Inventory of lifelong guidance systems and practices - Türkiye. CareersNet national records. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/country-reports/inventory-lifelong-guidance-systems-and-practices-turkiye
Contributor: Fusun Akkok
Acknowledgements

Özlem Kalkan, Ministry of National Education, provided information on the MoNE developments; Serdar Özmen, Ministry of National Education, provided information on the MoNE developments; Eren Suna, Ministry of National Education, provided information on the VET developments in MoNE; Ezgi Yüce and Mustafa Tiryaki, Turkish Employment Agency (İSKUR), provided information on the İSKUR developments; Seyfettin Toraman, Ministry of National Education, provided information on the MoNE developments.
Reviewed by: Cedefop
Copyright: Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged.
Disclaimer: Translations of titles/names for entities, country policies and practices are not to be considered as official translations. The perspectives and opinions expressed in the records do not necessarily reflect those of Cedefop. The CareersNet experts make every effort to ensure accuracy of the information presented, however the situation in the countries can change and information sources are obtained from a number of stakeholders.
Previous versions: 2020, 2021

Introduction

In Türkiye, career guidance services are offered in various contexts by a number of different actors including the Ministry of National Education (MoNE), the Turkish Employment Agency (İSKUR), which is an affiliated institution of the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Family (MLSSF), universities, the private sector, trade unions and employers’ associations. MoNE and İSKUR provide most of the current services (Euroguidance, 2019).

MoNE is responsible for guidance services in education, from primary to higher education. The goal of these services is to support students in improving their self-awareness and opportunity awareness, making realistic choices and self-actualisation (Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı, 2017). These services include:

  1. education guidance;
  2. career guidance;
  3. personal and social guidance.

 İSKUR supports individuals (the young and adults) in finding jobs suited to their qualities and employers in finding employees with qualities suitable for the job (Çalışma, Sosyal Hizmetler ve Aile Bakanlığı, 2003). İSKUR provides a variety of different services including:

  1. career orientation services;
  2. job and employment counselling services;
  3. education programmes to develop job search skills;
  4. psychological counselling services via career counselling centres;
  5. providing detailed explanations to students, in cooperation with schools, about the importance of choosing a career, its relationship to education choices and the sources from which career information can be reached.

Sources

Coordination and collaboration among stakeholders

A memorandum of understanding has been signed by a number of stakeholders as a basis for the future national guidance forum. Provincial employment and vocational training councils support the development of employment and vocational education/training policies. They also determine employment activities and active employment programmes to attain and develop employment and to prevent unemployment.

The list of stakeholders represented in this memorandum consists of:

  1. Ministry of National Education (MoNE);
  2. Turkish Employment Agency (İSKUR);
  3. Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Family (MLSSF);
  4. State Planning Organisation;
  5. Small and Medium Industry Development Organisation;
  6. National Productivity Centre;
  7. Vocational Qualification Authority;
  8. Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen;
  9. Higher Education Council;
  10. Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations;
  11. Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye
  12. Confederation of Turkish Trade Union.

A circular (2018/6) issued by the DG for Special Education Guidance and Counselling Services (under the Ministry of National Education), has been put into effect to improve the effectiveness and accessibility of these services, as well as to promote better and equal dissemination of their provisions (Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı, 2018).

In the education sector, the structures which ensure guidance provision are:

  1. the Provincial Directorate for National Education;
  2. the Special Education and Guidance Services Branch;
  3. MoNE’s DG for Special Education Guidance and Counselling Services.

The Vocation Advisory Commission (Mesleki Danışma Komisyonu, MEDAK), whose presidency and secretary is coordinated by İSKUR for the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, promotes cooperation and coordination between the related stakeholders and holds regular meetings to discuss issues related to career guidance and other related matters (Euroguidance, 2019).

Provincial employment and vocational training committees also determine local labour market demand, by monitoring skills dynamics to support the education and employment sectors locally to develop and tailor their work accordingly. They also set local action plans to develop employability and VET programmes.

In 73 provinces in Türkiye since 2013, İŞKUR has developed a joint venture with the career planning centres of 85 public and 20 private universities. 170 000 university students have been supported since then by these İŞKUR campus/contact points and, together with the career centres in the universities, they support the career development and job search and placement of the university students. They aim to develop the labour market and opportunity awareness of the students together with employers.

Job clubs are a good example of the cooperation and coordination implemented in the country as an intervention of İŞKUR in coordination with the related stakeholders. İŞKUR has a profiling-based counselling system to provide targeted support. Job clubs are one of these targeted interventions. They focus on individuals who need a high level of career guidance support (the long-term unemployed, women, individuals with disabilities, former inmates, NEETs) through a joint venture with employers, NGOs, youth centres, municipalities, public education centres and migrant services. (See also specific groups for adults: career guidance for adult learners, older adults, the unemployed, NEETs, people with special needs and disabilities) Their main goal is to support, motivate and teach employability skills to the discouraged in respect to employment. Thus, they offer group and individual counselling and peer counselling to empower the self-esteem and respect of the individuals targeted to prepare them better and to improve their employability. The activities and interventions are tailored to the specific needs of the individuals. The employers are invited to the job clubs for mock interviews and this relationship has also created better employer awareness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these services were provided via digital tools in close cooperation with Women’s Centres, Child Support Centres, Public Education Centres and NGOs. There are job clubs in 94 centres in 81 provinces. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, these services have been provided online and face-to-face depending on accessibility.

Coordination and cooperation for the labour market integration of migrants, including the training of career practitioners, is one of Türkiye’s critical priorities. (See also career guidance for immigrants and refugees; quality assurance; training and qualifications) A good initiative has been developed between a governmental institution and an international organisation. The DG of International Labour Force of Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) conducted a joint venture to empower those professionals (job and employment counsellors) working in the municipal Migrant Service Centres in six provinces on career guidance and the social inclusion of migrants. The professionals of the Turkish Employment Agency, the Vocational Qualifications Authority, DG of Migrant Management and the municipalities held a joint 5 day training course to develop new strategies, improve networking and to promote further coordination, cooperation and communication (co-co-co) of the related stakeholders. The participants mentioned the importance of coordination among the stakeholders and the value of sharing their experiences, promising to implement and share what they had learned. This kind of co-co-co contributes to the development of common understanding and terminology.

Further, the pre-employment support programme of IOM that was designed to make the process of adaptation to the labour market easier for Syrians and host community members is a good example of coordination and cooperation among the stakeholders. This practice was launched in July 2018 and implemented through a quadripartite agreement between the Directorate General of International Labour Force (DGILF), the Turkish Employment Agency, the Vocational Qualifications Authority (VQA) and IOM.

The 20th National Education Summit also took place in December 2021 on the themes of equal opportunity and equity in education, improvements in VET and the continuous professional development of teachers. New road maps will be designed according to the outcomes of the summit. NGOs, trade unions, higher education institutions, students and parents contributed to the process as well as all other related stakeholders. The summit made several recommendations:

  1. to promote access, mobile Guidance and Research Centres and ICT tools need to be implemented;
  2. a better and more effective use of e-portfolios was suggested, to be developed through the joint efforts of parents, teachers, school administrators and school counsellors;
  3. the gifted and talented need to have tailored support for their holistic development;
  4. for young people/adults with special needs, employment strategies could be devised to develop their potential and performance in VET. (See also Career guidance for special needs and disabilities);
  5. digital interventions need to be better developed and implemented to increase access;
  6. the necessary and required legislative developments need to make the best use of the international resolutions and regulations on career guidance.

Another important development is related to the Validation of non-formal and informal learning (VNFIL). The Vocational Qualifications Authority (VQA) has published guidelines on the rules and regulations for the VNFIL (https://www.myk.gov.tr/index.php/tr/haberler/102-tuerkiye-yeterlilikle-cercevesi-dairesi-bakanl/3467-yaygn-ve-serbest-oerenmelerin-dorulanmas-rehberi-yaymland). This is a joint venture between MoNE, the Higher Education Council and the VQA. The VQA, together with the stakeholders mentioned, has also prepared the quality assurance rules and regulations in VNFIL and when finalised, these stakeholders will prepare a policy document for VNFIL in Türkiye as part of the development of lifelong learning (LLL). A guidebook on VNFIL has also been prepared by the stakeholders and publicised: Mesleki Yeterlilik Kurumu. https://www.myk.gov.tr/index.php/tr/haberler/102-tuerkiye-yeterlilikle-cercevesi-dairesi-bakanl/3917-tyc-kalite-guevence-el-kitab-yaymland)

To support and promote the communication, coordination and collaboration of the guidance partners within the schools and different institutions of MoNE, an e-guidance module has been developed and a guide has been prepared on how to use it (ICT in lifelong guidance) .

Sources

Access to guidance

The National education summits, that submit recommendations for the development of the Turkish national education system, first addressed the topic of guidance in 1961. Since then, access to guidance has been a topic of interest at all subsequent summits.

National development plans include articles and items related to guidance services, addressing lifelong guidance for all age levels. The guidance and psychological counselling services in the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) integrate education, career and personal/social guidance services. Career guidance services at schools are mainly provided by the school’s guidance and psychological counselling service.

In Skills vision 2020 Türkiye, information, guidance and counselling and work-based learning are emphasised to actualise the Skills 2020 Türkiye vision for a socially cohesive, knowledge-based economy with reduced regional inequalities. This vision relies on a proactive, entrepreneurial workforce in which young people and women can fully participate. It encompasses an agenda for:

  1. high-tech sectors (electronics, automotive, software), low-tech sectors (woodware, food and tobacco), and high-capability;
  2. coordinated and coherent employment;
  3. education and social cohesion policies complementing sectoral skills-related priorities nationally and regionally;
  4. anticipating labour demand;
  5. a high-quality supply of required human resources.

MoNE’s guidance and research centres (Rehberlik ve Araştırma Merkezleri) in cities are responsible for coordination to support access to guidance services. One of the main target groups is children, and parents of children, with special needs. These services offer specialist diagnostics for students with special needs, deliver individual and group guidance services in schools, which do not have a guidance practitioner, and offer a more general support resource to guidance services within schools. These centres also support students for career guidance, review the school guidance reports and produce a synthesis report, which is submitted to the ministry.

In VET, career development is considered one of the priority areas in the MoNE VET strategy paper. In the near future, each TVET school in Türkiye will have a career counsellor. The misperceptions of managers, teachers, students and parents in TVET institutions about guidance and counselling services negatively impacts the provision of vocational guidance and counselling services. TVET managers and teachers lack up-to-date knowledge about the business sector, which they need when providing vocational guidance and counselling services to TVET students. TVET is administered by MoNE and is entitled to provide the guidance services defined within the regulation on guidance services.

In the National strategy on vocational education and training (2014-18), which is still in effect, the basic priority is to provide young people with the necessary knowledge, skills and competences by structuring vocational and technical education in accordance with the expectations of the local, national and international labour markets. The Vocational and technical education strategy document and action plan (2014–18) has been formulated at the axis of three main policies aimed at developing the VET system in Türkiye: increasing access, capacity development, and employment. Employment with VET includes providing VET students, trainees and graduates – including groups requiring special policies – with key competences; workplace-based training; opportunities for creativity, innovativeness and entrepreneurship; occupational health and safety; national and international mobility (European Training Foundation, 2014b). The strategy paper has a subsection on career guidance and career development.

MoNE has drafted an Action plan to strengthen the link between education and employment (İMEİGEP), which aims to develop and implement the national qualifications framework (NQF) (Türkiye Yeterlilikler Çerçevesi, TYÇ). It also seeks to revise education programmes in compliance with the national occupational standards (NOS), offering vocational guidance and counselling services, labour force training courses and ensuring accreditation of VET institutions. The services are jointly provided by MoNE and İSKUR and the provisions are ICT-based and face-to-face. Schools have guidance services to support the students. The Vocational Education Law puts an obligation on enterprises with more than 20 employers to take on interns (apprentices or students) so that these make up 5-10% of the workforce. Most apprentices are in the 14 to 20 age group. Only 10% of former apprentices are jobless and 90% start their own businesses (European Training Foundation, 2014b). In this connection, for learners who are apprentices, students or interns, career guidance in VET is described in the MoNE regulation on guidance services. This regulation specifies the career information, education guidance and overarching career guidance.

Orientation for the 9th, 10th and 11th grade students in vocational and technical education may be carried out by the assistant principal, class teacher, guidance practitioner or others. Orientation supports students by providing information about programmes and work prospects and may also involve work-shadowing for students so they can make relevant choices. Students are guided to fields/branches in the 9th, 10th and 11th grades according to the level, type and properties of the programmes implemented in vocational and technical schools and institutions. Employers are encouraged to provide in-service and on-the-job training to improve the vocational competences of their employees.

Sources

COVID-19 update

The Ministry of National Education (MoNE) prepared three booklets as part of the psycho-social support interventions:

  1. the first booklet is addressed to parents, providing information on the COVID-19 pandemic and suggestions on how to cope with it;
  2. the second is addressed to adults, referring to feelings and reactions during this period and offers suggestions;
  3. the third booklet is addressed to young people.

These booklets have been available online for the target groups since the end of March 2020. Parents were able to call the hotline to get information and ask their questions and share their experiences. MoNE also established a Special Education and Guidance Call Centre to support students, young people and parents in 81 provinces by providing help, counselling, psychological and social support to residents by phone. Further, a digital information brochure was prepared, providing 11 simple health suggestions on how to protect ourselves from COVID-19. In addition, provincial offices were informed they should promote and set the stage for online guidance interventions and communications for students with guidance practitioners.

Source

 

Quality assurance

The Ministry of National Education (MoNE) put in place a framework to monitor the development and performance of students, teachers and school administrators at provincial and local level from 2015. This has a set of indicators and activities, which include:

  1. quality management;
  2. human resources management;
  3. education/training;
  4. measurement and evaluation;
  5. student management, infrastructures;
  6. information management;
  7. health and security.

Evidence-based guidance policies and provisions are also envisaged in the near future as indicated in the MoNE Education Vision 2023.

The Regulation on the quality assurance of the qualifications (25 March 2018, No 30371) is included in the Turkish qualifications framework for regulating the principles ensuring quality assurance of the qualifications. This regulation covers all qualifications, the validation of non-formal and informal learning, and determines the institutions responsible for quality assurance, their roles and responsibilities and the quality assurance criteria.

The criteria to ensure quality are determined by the Vocational Qualifications Authority (VQA) and updated when needed. The VQA is also responsible for setting up, managing, monitoring and improving quality assurance. When doing this, the VQA coordinates and works together with the related organisations specified in the regulation.

To support and promote the communication, coordination and cooperation of the guidance partners within the schools and different institutions of MoNE, an e-guidance module has been developed and a guide has been prepared on how to use it. The module also aims to promote a better, more effective and systematic organisation and monitoring of the guidance services provided. Moreover, this could also be used for evidence-based policy making. (See also the section on Coordination and collaboration among stakeholders)

The Human Resources Office of the Turkish Republic Presidency plans to develop a unit to develop a quality assurance system for the careers service in 2022.

Several studies have been conducted on the impact of the services provided. (See also the section on Evidence, monitoring and assessment) One preliminary qualitative study aims to provide an example of this type of programme evaluation by measuring six key components as identified by the Career Builders Toolkit, an empirically based tool designed to develop and evaluate career and workforce development programmes. Five school counselling programmes for all grades in the city of Gaziantep, Türkiye (which is among the cities with a very high Syrian refugee population) were purposely selected. Their programme materials were content analysed and, encoded around the six key components of the Career Builders Toolkit, were rated as being sufficient, existing or absent, thus providing information about the growth areas still needed in these school-based career development curricula. Among the largest growth areas identified were trainer curriculum and evaluation. The implications for policy, research and practice are provided based on a Tripartite model of programme evaluation. This preliminary examination of five Turkish schools suggests that the careers services in the schools evaluated are adequate in their response to the realities of the surrounding community and the broader Turkish education system, especially in implementing age-specific, life-long programmes. At the same time, they still lack parental involvement, which needs to be better incorporated. Another finding of this preliminary study is that there is still a critical need for the systematic evaluation of the programmes (Ozdemir, 2019).

Another study on effectiveness was a PhD thesis. The aim of this study (in Turkish) was to investigate the effect of psychoeducation programmes on career development and decision-making levels of middle school 5th grade students, developed on the basis of the theoretical foundation of the Childhood career development model of super (1990). This study also aimed to adapt the Daily life decision making scale to middle school students in Türkiye. The results of the study showed a positive effect on the career development and decision-making levels of the middle school 5th grade students who participated in the psychoeducation programme. This effect continued during the follow-up test 2 months later (Ozkan, 2019).

In relation to the qualifications of the professionals in the field, occupational standards and qualifications have been developed for job and employment counsellors and their competences have been validated and certified (https://portal.tyc.gov.tr/yeterlilik/is-ve-meslek-danismani-seviye-6-myk-mesleki-yeterlilik-belgesi-TR00102422.html Moreover, In MoNE, the national occupational standards for the school counsellors at Level 7 of the Turkish qualifications framework, have been developed, publicised and put into practice. The standards have been prepared by the Counselling and Guidance Association. (https://www.myk.gov.tr/index.php/tr/haberler/53-hukuk-mueavirlii/2940-5-yeni-ulusal-meslek-standard-yaymland ).

Sources

Career management skills

Online and face-to-face interventions are conducted through MoNE (Ministry of National Education), according to the existing regulations. A web-based career information system has been established to support developing career management skills (CMS). This web-based system supports self-awareness and provides information on employment and education opportunities. Interventions in relation to career development take place within the guidance and research centres.

This new system and major changes in the secondary school curricula have been embedded by strengthening the self-awareness of students, supporting their career development and future career plans. The new model is geared around career education and guidance within the education system. The main philosophy of this model is to support individuals to develop holistically to gain a better understanding of their potential and interests and to decide and act accordingly, and to apply it beyond the secondary level. Every school will have a careers office as a pivotal part of this new revised curricula. This is to promote the  better self-understanding and awareness of students and to develop their potential and skills for their later life stages. Starting in the 9th grade, these offices will support the students in acquiring better self-understanding, self-exploration and awareness to develop a career profile based on values, competences and interests.

Sources

Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı (Ministry of National Education). http://www.meb.gov.tr/en/

Evidence, monitoring and assessment

An e-module has been developed for this purpose and is in use in the system. The e-portfolio system is an innovative practice of the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) based on the 2023 vision in education requirement that ‘a developmental monitoring report, based on an e-portfolio, will be used for monitoring and evaluating children in primary and lower-secondary schools’ (MoNE, 2020). The e-portfolio has a developmental perspective, covering student development from preschool to university. This module has three sections:

  1. academic performance, records and developments;
  2. personal, social and career development of individuals, which includes the scores/results of the assessment tools administered
  3. extracurricular activities, including the social activities module

The Turkish Employment Agency (İSKUR) communication centre also has a users’ satisfaction survey for job seekers and employers. The online tool SurveyMonkey is used and administered by the communication centre staff. To provide the most effective services, İSKUR monitors their quality and quantity. Based on their evaluations, improvements in the provisions are envisaged.

Interviews are conducted weekly via telephone with a random sample of job seekers and employers interviewed/met that week. The survey asks about the interventions provided and their level of satisfaction with the services provided.

Several studies have been conducted about the impact of the services provided. One example is a preliminary qualitative study, which aims to evaluate programmes by measuring the six key components identified by the Career Builders Toolkit, an empirically based tool designed to develop and evaluate career and workforce development programmes. Five school counselling programmes in the city of Gaziantep (which is among the cities with a very high Syrian refugee population), were purposely selected. Their programme materials were content analysed and, encoded around the six key components of the Career Builders Toolkit, were rated as being sufficient, existing or absent, thus providing information about the growth areas still needed in these school-based career development curricula. Among the largest growth areas identified were trainer curriculum and evaluation. The implications for policy, research and practice are provided based on a Tripartite model of programme evaluation. This preliminary examination of five Turkish schools suggests that the careers services in the schools evaluated are more or less adequate in their response to the realities of the surrounding community and the broader Turkish education system, especially in implementing age-specific, life-long programmes. At the same time, they still lack parental involvement, which needs to be better incorporated.  Another finding of this preliminary study is that there is still a critical need for systematic evaluation of the programmes.

Another impact study is a PhD thesis. The aim of this study (in Turkish) is to investigate the effect of psychoeducation programmes on career development and decision-making levels of middle school 5th grade students, developed on the basis of the theoretical foundation of the Childhood career development model of super (1990). This study also aims to adapt the Daily life decision making scale to middle school students in Türkiye. In the research, a quasi-experimental model with a pre-test, post-test and monitoring test was used. The experimental and control groups of this study consisted of 28 students in the fifth grade of two official State middle schools both in the Mamak district of Ankara in the 2017/18 academic year. Fourteen students (8 boys and 6 girls) participated in the experiment and control groups. The data were collected using the Childhood career development scale, the Daily life decision making scale and the Personal Information Form. The results of the study had a positive impact on the career development and decision-making levels of the middle school 5th grade students who participated in the programme. This effect continued during the follow-up test taken 2 months later (Ozkan, 2019).

Sources

Career information, ICT in guidance

According to the Eleventh development plan (2019-23), the importance of information and technology in education and the economics/labour market have been highlighted in the plan. Mobile and IT tools-based innovative learning approaches are envisaged and will be implemented in all education settings. With a lifelong learning approach, the digital transformation will lead the learning and work environments. Developing digital skills for young people and adults will be prioritised. A glossary on digital transformation will be prepared to ease the transformation. Innovative research and its implementation are envisaged in relation to critical technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, big data and biotechnology. The career guidance system will be adapted to the digital transformation (https://www.sbb.gov.tr/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/OnbirinciKalkinmaPlani.pdf.)

There are various sites serving career guidance. For instance, the following web-based careers information sites are actively used by the audience:

  1. E-non-formal contains available LLL programmes and is delivered by DG of Lifelong Learning (Hayat Boyu Öğrenme Genel Müdürlüğü);
  2. Vocational Information System Scales (prioritises the areas of interest, ability and career choice) is a web-based career information system (further information can be found here);
  3. Vocational Qualification Authority website;
  4. The Turkish Employment Agency (ISKUR) website provides a matching engine for employers and employees;
  5. The Ministry of National Education (MoNE) Lifelong Learning website supports individuals in their career development by offering assessment tools for self-awareness, labour market information and information on education/training
  6. The VET Portal: My Career and My life is another example of a website from MoNE developed as part of the 2023 vision in education. This portal has been designed to assist vocational technical education students in their programme choice, providing 54 videos for the 54 fields and success stories of different occupations. This portal also provides information on VET education abroad, training of trainees, career opportunities, interview techniques, occupations of the future and an overview of VET developments in Türkiye. This portal also serves as an important link between the graduates of VET schools and the employers, and provides information about job opportunities (Akkok, 2020).

A university and an online job search website initiated the joint project I am ready for work (İşe Hazırım) to support university students and graduates in a better transition from education to work and to promote their employability. This certificate programme has been designed based on interviews conducted with employers and the world of work for students and graduates to have a better grasp of the skills in demand by employers and the need for personal development skills to accompany their career management skills (See also the section on Career management skills). When certificates have been awarded at the end of their training, individuals applying for work via the online job search, using the I am ready for work code, will be highlighted by the system. The system will be able to detail the skills and the personal qualities of the individual related to that job. Individuals are supported in career management, employability and personal skills, such as social-emotional skills. Personal skill development targets effective communication skills, entrepreneurship, networking and ethics.

In 2021, the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) and the Turkish Employment Agency (İSKUR), undertook a joint venture. The 250 occupational information booklets have been integrated into the EBA (Education IT network) of MoNE to be shared with students, teachers and parents to support the career exploration of the students.

The İŞKUR job clubs are another example of career guidance development. Job clubs are one of the targeted interventions and focus on those needing a high level of support (the long-term unemployed, women, people with disabilities, women, former inmates, NEETs). They are provided as a joint venture between employers, NGOs, youth centres, municipalities, public education centres and migrant services. During the COVID-19 pandemic these services were provided digitally (See also the section on Coordination and collaboration among stakeholders).

To support and promote the communication, coordination and cooperation of the guidance partners within the schools and different institutions of MoNE, an e-guidance module has been developed and a guide has been prepared on how to use it. (See also the section on Coordination and collaboration among stakeholders).

Sources

Training and qualifications

To become a guidance practitioner in the education sector (schools, and guidance and research centres) – MoNE, Ministry of National Education – a bachelor degree diploma in psychological guidance and counselling is required. Students choose these programmes upon entry to the university. To become a job and employment counsellor, a bachelor degree diploma and a vocational qualification certificate are required.

Guidance practitioners must have at least a bachelor’s degree in guidance and psychological counselling or in psychology. Courses in guidance and psychological counselling are offered by universities; they include some attention to career guidance but focus, mainly, on psychological counselling. In recent years, graduates of other branches of educational sciences have also been appointed as guidance counsellors after taking courses available in the initial guidance programme. The professional organisations argue that practitioners require at least an undergraduate degree to become competent in the field.

Guidance counsellors can decide whether or not to pursue graduate education. Those who have completed graduate studies are preferred for some special projects, depending on the nature of the activity (Euroguidance, 2019). For example, if specialised in parent counselling, they work with parents in guidance and research centres; if they acquired skills in ICT tools, they may work in the development of such tools. All public and private universities in Türkiye offer undergraduate programmes in guidance and counselling. Additionally, almost all universities offer master’s degree programmes, coordinated by the Higher Education Council. Occupational standards and qualifications have been developed for job and employment counsellors and their competences are validated and certified: https://portal.tyc.gov.tr/yeterlilik/is-ve-meslek-danismani-seviye-6-myk-mesleki-yeterlilik-belgesi-TR00102422.html). In MoNE, national occupational standards for school counsellors at level 7 of the Turkish qualifications framework, have also been developed, publicised and put into practice. The standards have been prepared by the Counselling and Guidance Association. (https://www.myk.gov.tr/index.php/tr/haberler/53-hukuk-mueavirlii/2940-5-yeni-ulusal-meslek-standard-yaymland).

In MoNE, guidance practitioners receive training in the secondary and higher education examination systems, career counselling, test anxiety and stress management. MoNE offers continuous training programmes for guidance practitioners. Further, as part of the Education vision 2023, class teachers in school will be able to become guidance practitioners through the certification process when the validation procedures are finalised.

The job and employment counsellors in İSKUR (the Turkish Employment Agency) are trained and empowered to work more effectively with  migrants and refugees. They have training programmes as part of the Supporting labour migration management in Türkiye phase II project. (https://www.facebook.com/IOMTurkey/posts/well-managed-labour-migration-has-far-reaching-potential-for-migrants-their-comm/1983880468541560/) with the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) to develop their micro counselling skills, their knowledge on legal aspects and validation in relation to the Labour Market integration of migrants and refugees.

İSKUR envisages improving the quality and effectiveness of its services by implementing a target-focused intervention. This target-focused intervention could support individuals for better self-awareness and opportunity awareness to make more effective and realistic decisions that support their future aspirations, goals, values and competences. Due to their heavy workload, job and employment counsellors have constraints in developing individual action plans for jobseekers. Based on demographics, their education background, previous work experience, motivation and specific interests, they have focused on specific areas and target groups. The job and employment counsellors have been trained intensively for this new model and, based on a comprehensive needs analysis, new training programmes have been designed to empower them. All the standards and modelling of this new system were completed in 2020.

Counsellors in Türkiye belong to professional organisations. One such organisation is the Turkish Psychological Counselling and Guidance Association (Türk Psikolojik Danışma ve Rehberlik Derneği, PDR-DER). The association was established in 1989 with the aim of setting up communication and coordination among its members, to develop the profession in the country, to support its scientific work and to support their professional rights.

At İŞKUR, the job and employment counsellors also have continuous training on topics related to assessment, job mediation and career guidance; recently, they have undertaken training to become more empowered in working with refugees and migrants. The professionals working in the Turkish Employment Agency, Vocational Qualifications Authority, DG of Migrant Management and municipalities are able to join a training course for 5 days to develop new strategies, improve  networking and to promote further co-co-co (coordination, cooperation and communication) of the related stakeholders. (See also the Coordination and cooperation section). There were three training sessions of 5 days between 2018-2020 to empower the skills and understanding of the professionals on working with migrants to support their knowledge and understanding on assessment, job mediation and career guidance The occupational standards and qualifications of the job and employment counsellors are defined as part of the Turkish qualification framework.

In MoNE, the national occupational standards for school counsellors at level 7 of the Turkish qualifications framework have been developed, publicised and put into practice. The standards have been prepared by the Counselling and Guidance Association. (https://www.myk.gov.tr/index.php/tr/haberler/53-hukuk-mueavirlii/2940-5-yeni-ulusal-meslek-standard-yaymland ).

The Vocational Qualifications Authority (myk.gov.tr) and the Turkish Psychological Counselling and Guidance Association together with the professionals in the field and academics, are in the process of developing a protocol for the occupational standards for career counsellors. The process will be finalised soon.

Online training has been developed by MONE and academics in the field for the new career education programmes for professionals. The training was conducted by academics from various universities in November 2021. 260 professionals participated in the training. The training consisted of providing information on the new approach and programme and reviewing the activities. Training will continue for school counsellors, school administrators and the class guidance teachers.

MoNE, with the support of UNICEF, also prepared a guidebook/manual (https://odsgm.meb.gov.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/2020_08/26145750_PDR.pdf) for school counsellors at all levels (K-12) to support them in career guidance interventions with the students. This manual discusses the interventions and techniques for the career planning skills, how to support the students to improve awareness of themselves, their potentialities opportunities and for better decision-making. This guide also has some assessment forms for the counselee and self-assessment forms for the counsellor. This was prepared in 2020 as a joint venture of MoNE and UNICEF.

Further, counsellors in the Science and Art Centres (BİLSEM) had a 40-hour training course on individual and group career guidance and counselling skills. The content of the training consisted of counselling skills, career development theories, techniques, and tools. Monitoring and evaluation was also discussed. The programme also included activities and interactive dimensions. This activity took place in 2021.

Sources

Funding career guidance

Career guidance funding is included in the education budget of the Ministry of National Education (MoNE). There is, therefore, no specific reference in the budget for career guidance. For the Turkish Employment Agency (İSKUR), funding is from the unemployment insurance fund and the national treasury. The professionals working in MoNE and İŞKUR are civil servants and paid by the government. The services provided by MoNE and İŞKUR are provided free for citizens. The Guidance and Research Centres of MONE also provide all their services free to children and their parents.

Sources

Türkiye İş Kurumu (Turkish Employment Agency). (n.d.) https://www.iskur.gov.tr/

Career guidance for school pupils

Schools at different levels provide individual and group activities to support personal and career development. Class teachers also provide information about the world of work. In the 2023 vision for education, the development of a specific programme/module on career guidance for schools is envisaged.

Careers education is included as part of class guidance programmes in all types of school and is integrated with personal and social education. Within the curriculum, there is time allocated for a guidance programme supporting students in educational, personal, social and career guidance. Teacher handbooks have been introduced to guide teachers through in-class activities in their courses; support is also offered by the school's guidance practitioners. In primary schools, there is currently no national policy on class time for career guidance or Ministry of National Education (MoNE) resources for group guidance, though some schools make regular class time available. MoNE is developing a web-based module to support further access to guidance (https://edirne.meb.gov.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/2020_09/30131101_e-Rehberlik_KYlavuzu.pdf ). This will provide better, faster, and continuous coordination and cooperation of related parties within MoNE: students, teachers, parents, school administrators, local MoNE officials and the Directorate General. This module also aims to increase access to services via continuous interaction. (See also Coordination and collaboration among stakeholders).

The Turkish Employment Agency (ISKUR), in cooperation with schools, provides detailed explanations to students about the importance of choosing a career, its relationship to education choices and the sources from which career information can be accessed. These are supplemented by multimedia tools such as videotapes and films. İSKUR also has a library/resource centre where students can make use of career files, which include information about the definition of careers and their tasks, the qualifications required to perform these tasks, work environments and working conditions, vocational training, fields of work, employment opportunities, income, and opportunities for promotion during and after training. There are also printed documents (books, articles, pamphlets), which give detailed information about opportunities for vocational training and the labour market (Kırşehir Milli Eğitim Müdürlüğü, 2011). İSKUR also organises class and group discussions in both general and technical/vocational secondary schools. Class discussions, which take at least 1 class hour, address topics such as the importance of choosing a career, points to consider when choosing a career and the job and career counselling services provided by ISKUR. Group discussions focus on vocational training alternatives after graduation, careers and working life. Conferences on career development aim at developing job search skills. Interview techniques and some tools for testing and assessment are used in individual counselling sessions. Another activity is meetings with parents, whose aim is to enable them to adopt more conscious approaches in helping their children make career choices (Akkök & Watts, 2003).

İSKUR also publishes A Journal to support career choice as a support tool in job and employment counselling with young people and the unemployed and to improve the employability of job seekers. This journal is published yearly and is also available on a digital platform. The published version is distributed to schools by the job and employment counsellors as part of the seminars held in schools all around Türkiye. The content includes articles and information on career development, how to improve employability, career planning, the development of self-awareness, opportunity awareness, 21st century skills, CV writing skills, Europass CV, the occupations of the future and active labour market programmes. The journal also aims to provide information to parents and teachers as well as to students.

Further, a new development by MoNE is a career education programme for each grade,from preschool to the end of high school, to provide a holistic, comprehensive and developmental perspective for teachers. This new programme includes academic, career and social-emotional domains with a developmental perspective. This programme has been prepared by the DG of Special Education, Guidance and Counselling of MoNE. Sample activities for teachers carrying out the programme have been prepared for each learning outcome (36 learning outcomes for each grade), entitled: The set of guidance activities for each grade. The activities have a developmental, inclusive and multicultural perspective and are tailored to the developmental tasks appropriate to the level of each student. The activities provide the students with the opportunity for active participation and are geared for individual differences. The implementation of the programme began in the 2020/21 academic year.

MoNE has also developed a psychoeducation programme to support the career development of junior and senior high school students. For junior high school students, this is a 6 week programme aimed at promoting students’ self-awareness, opportunity awareness about education pathways and empowering them for decision-making skills for further career plans. For senior high school students, the Career development and planning psychoeducation programme (KAGEP), has the goal of developing the career maturity of the students, specifically for those with lower career maturity, and who are less informed and less self-aware or have limited opportunity awareness.

There are Science and Art Centres (BİLSEM) for the gifted and talented students in each province (https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/egitim/bilsemden-kariyer-rehberlik-programi-41997539). Assessments are conducted in the elementary schools and the gifted students, in addition to their formal education, are supported in these centres to develop their talents and potential. They are also supported for developing awareness and planning for their future. The careers guidance programmes for the BİLSEM have been developed and published for elementary, junior and senior high school students. The programme for elementary schools is called: Developing awareness for the future; for junior high: Getting ready for the future, and for senior high: Planning the future. Student booklets for these programmes have also been prepared. The programmes are developed with a developmental guidance perspective, to support the awareness and development of interests, abilities, values and career decision making skills as well as to empower the students for resilience, dealing with uncertainties, being proactive and for perseverance.

Sources

COVID-19 update

A programme entitled Career conversations was organised and carried out online by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) for gifted 11-15 years olds: academics, musicians (an internally well-known piano player, an opera singer) and high-level bureaucrats had career conversations with the teenagers to support them with personal career exploration and the world of work. The programme only took place once but is planned to be continued in autumn 2022.

Guidance for VET participants

Career development in VET is considered one of the priority areas in the MoNE VET strategy paper. In the near future, each TVET school in Türkiye will have a career counsellor. The misperceptions of managers, teachers, students and parents in TVET institutions about guidance and counselling services negatively impacts the provision of vocational guidance and counselling services. TVET managers and teachers lack up-to-date knowledge about the business sector, which they need when providing vocational guidance and counselling services to TVET students. TVET is administered by MoNE and is entitled to provide the guidance services defined within the regulation on guidance services.

In the National strategy on vocational education and training (2014-18), which is still in effect, the basic priority is to provide young people with the knowledge, skills and competences they need by structuring vocational and technical education in accordance with the expectations of the local, national and international labour markets. The Vocational and technical education strategy document and action plan (2014–18) have been formulated at the axis of the three main policies aimed at developing the VET system in Türkiye: a) increasing access b) capacity development c) employment. Preparation for employment through VET includes providing VET students, trainees and graduates, and groups requiring special policies, with: key competences; workplace-based training; opportunities for creativity, innovativeness and entrepreneurship; occupational health and safety; national and international mobility (European Training Foundation, 2014). The strategy paper has a subsection on career guidance and career development.

Sources

Guidance for higher education students

The action plans on developing the careers services, as well as psychological counselling and guidance services, in universities are rooted in the strategic plans of the universities. These services are managed by university administrations and supported by the related departments in the universities. Several universities have items in their strategic plans to promote and develop their career guidance services and psychological counselling and guidance services. For example, in the strategic plan of the Middle East Technical University (METU), under the strategic Workforce programme, there are goals indicating the development of these services, with concrete actions:

  1. increasing the capacity (staff, activities, sustainability) of the Career Planning Centre to meet an individual’s career development needs;
  2. offering students the necessary environment for them to make use of the counselling services offered.

Several established universities have their action plans for developing comprehensive services. These universities have models and activities that offer good practice for the newer universities:

  1. career education: developing students’ career management competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes);
  2. career evaluation: helping students acquire and apply knowledge about personal features relevant for career development;
  3. career counselling: helping students to solve career problems;
  4. career opportunities exploration: helping students acquire and apply knowledge about career opportunities in the career development process;
  5. job search: helping students acquire job search skills and seek employment which meets their personal needs (ELGPN, 2012).

In addition, they offer:

  1. close communication, coordination and cooperation of universities with employers and careers fairs;
  2. walk-in sessions: brief encounters with staff in the career centres to review CVs or cover letters;
  3. self-exploration and self-assessment;
  4. career planning;
  5. job search skills and strategies;
  6. CV and cover letter writing;
  7. job interview skill development.

One university, in association with an online job search website, initiated a joint project called I am ready for work, to support university students and graduates in a better transition from education to work and to promote their employability. The “I am ready for work” certificate programme is based on interviews conducted with employers and the world of work to have a better grasp of the skills and personal development in demand. Certificates are awarded at the end of their training. When individuals apply for work via the online job search, using the code I am ready for work, they will be highlighted by the system.

Another university established an online network for its alumni, the network of METU graduates, to promote the interaction of graduates in searching for jobs, start-ups, career development opportunities and further interactions for development. (Further information can be found here).

Universities cooperate with the Turkish Employment Agency ( İSKUR) in organising careers fairs. Many universities have careers centres with provision for career guidance and research. Some have online graduate (alumni) information databases.

Since 2013, İSKUR has developed a joint venture with the universities in 81 provinces in Türkiye. By 2021, working with the career planning centres of the universities, it had established 167 İSKUR campuses in 166 universities. These centres provide career guidance to the students and support the career development and job search and placement of the university students. These centres aim to develop the labour market and opportunity awareness of the students together with the employers. Individual and group activities are conducted to support the employability skills (CV writing, interviewing skills) of the students. This joint venture between the universities and İSKUR also provides an understanding of İSKUR and its services and these contact points facilitate students’ access to İŞKUR’s services. By reaching this target group, İSKUR also envisages reaching white-collar individuals and developing opportunities and services to assist this target group.

The establishment of the Human Resources Office of the Presidency of the Turkish Republic created an impetus for setting up Career Centres in universities. All universities in Türkiye now have career centres and this paves the way for more effective and productive services. One of the developments is the preparation of a manual for the career centres. This manual includes information on the organisational structure, areas of services and the roles and responsibilities of the staff in those centres, encouraging a common approach and understanding.

Regional careers fairs, entitled Talent everywhere, are also organised by the same office. The careers fairs are a joint venture of the public sector, private organisations and professional associations. Fairs were organised, with the coordination and cooperation of 130 universities, in 11 different provinces/regions in 2022. The critical aim of these fairs is to support university students to develop awareness of their potential and to create and improve equal opportunities for employability and employment opportunities.

The Human Resources Office has also developed a digital platform integrated with the e-government platform. It aims to provide equal opportunity for employment to public organisations and apprenticeships and to support career opportunities for young people and adults. This career/talent gate platform was established in 2021 and works closely with the career centres in the universities. It creates an interactive medium among young people, employers and the career centres and is also available via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The same office also prepared a directive for the mobilisation of apprenticeships for university students in the public and private sectors. The directive also mentions using volunteers in the workplace and schools, who could support students in their career development and engagement. This directive was developed and put into effect in 2021. All the applications and the procedures are available via the career gate digital platform.

Sources

COVID-19 update

One private university has initiated good practice that could be inspirational for other institutions. The university has a programme called: Interview adventure with talent hunters. This face-to-face intervention now takes place via Zoom. Students can also make online appointments for interviews that are done online via Zoom. The career activities with different employers that were conducted face-to-face are now organised online and will be carried on digitally. The university’s career centre is preparing a series of online seminars on personal attributes, competences, knowledge and experience based on recent research conducted on recruiting new graduates. Further, online seminar/seminars on Interview techniques will be performed in April. The career centre will be facilitating all of these activities.

One of the leading universities in Türkiye, the Middle East Technical University, has a new initiative coordinated by the career planning centre of the university. To serve the students online during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new course was started for all freshmen students entitled: Career planning course. This course aims to support students by developing their employability skills, providing opportunities to explore their career development (national and international exchange programmes, inviting speakers from the world of work), promoting self-awareness, soft skills and entrepreneurship and through alumni stories.

Sources

 

Guidance for unemployed adults

The Turkish Employment Agency (ISKUR) provides career orientation services in accordance with the Law on the Establishment and Duties of the Turkish Employment Organisation. No 4904, article 3 paragraph (i) establishes that the services will ‘perform career orientation services, provide job and employment counselling services, implement education programmes aiming at developing job search skills, to provide psychological counselling services via career counselling centres…’. Article 10 further decrees that services will ‘…expand and enlarge [the] career orientation system gradually, to provide and improve guidance service, to offer employment and counselling services, to implement educational programs towards developing job search skills’ (Kırşehir Provincial National Education Department, 2011).

Paragraph (i) of article 6 of the Career Orientation Letter of Recommendation No 88, approved by the International Labour Organization (ILO), includes provision ‘to register job applicants; to note their occupational qualifications, experiences and inclinations; to ask them questions for job placement; to examine their physical and occupational qualifications, if necessary; to help them in career orientation, career development and career re-adjustment, if necessary’ (Kırşehir Provincial National Education Department, 2011).

Article 3 of the Agreement on the Place of Career Education and Orientation in Assessment of Human Resources, No 142, states that ‘career guidance services, including continuous supply of employment information, should gradually be made available in order to ensure that guidance is as accessible as possible and to provide extensive information to all children, youth and adults, including special programmes for all people with disabilities. This information and guidance shall include levels of responsibility in career choice, career education and learning opportunities, expectations of employment, promotion opportunities, working conditions, occupational security, hygiene, economic, social and cultural activities and other aspects of the various sectors of working life’ (Kırşehir Provincial National Education Department 2011).

The National Employment Strategy (2014-23) lays great emphasis on resolving structural problems in the labour market, bringing strong solutions to unemployment through the impact of increasing growth on employment in the medium and long term.

Education Vision 2023 includes an analysis of the provincial labour force for its ability to meet labour force demand with regard to skills required, number of workers and sectors. In total, 25 primary transformation programmes are under way to implement Vision 2023. Some of these are of direct and immediate relevance to education, training and LLL in the sense that they address the human resource development (HRD) system and its capabilities. Those actions of direct relevance include improving the effectiveness of the labour market, reducing the informal economy, developing the statistical information infrastructure, developing basic and occupational skills, attracting qualified human resources from abroad and developing institutional capacity at local level.

İSKUR also provides vocational training to the unemployed to develop their employability skills. Training is based on employer demand and participants are informed about opportunities and are provided with job and employment counselling

There is also an International Organisation for Migration programme to support the labour market integration of the host community and Syrians under the temporary protection regime. The pre-employment support programme was designed to make the process of adaptation to the labour market easier for Syrians and those of the host community. The programme aims at enhancing the basic knowledge and skills which support the employability of job seekers. It aims to support the job seekers of the two target groups to acquire the basic knowledge/information and, to a certain level, the skills that could facilitate their work-based learning (See also Coordination and cooperation).

Sources

COVID-19 update

All job and employment counselling interventions, i.e. face-to-face interventions, group activities, school visits, workplace visits and related activities were reduced/postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plans and preparation for e-guidance provision are in progress by making all the materials and documents accessible online via the İSKUR website and mail, setting the infrastructure for e-guidance for the mid and long term.

The Vocational Qualifications Authority postponed all validation and exams until the end of April 2020. The Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) also initiated a practice to support the employability of the workers by encouraging employers to apply for a limited work allowance. The employers who had to stop working due to COVID-19 could apply online for this allowance for their workers. Flexible work modalities were also encouraged in the public and private sectors. The job and employment counselling interventions, i.e. face-to-face interventions, group activities, school visits, workplace visits and related activities were reduced/postponed due to COVID-19. E-şube of İŞKUR is still active. Citizens were encouraged to use the online versions of the services of İSKUR provincial offices/service centres, i.e. registration, job search, CV preparation and application for unemployment allowance.

Sources

Guidance for young people at risk

Since 2020, for children aged 13-18 in state custody in 79 different provinces, the Turkish Employment Agency (İSKUR) has started to work with the DG of Child Services of the Ministry of Family and Social Services to empower this target group for career development. The job and employment counsellors visit these children/young people in their centres and provided career guidance for self-awareness and opportunity awareness. This target group is also supported in CV preparation, interview techniques, rights and responsibilities in working life and related education and training programmes.

Sources

  • Personal communication with the Turkish Employment Agency experts and the brief note sent to the experts (2021).

Guidance for persons with disabilities

In Türkiye, the legislative, educational background and infrastructure for inclusion are in place. Developments started in the early 1950s and the developments for more inclusive education increased rapidly in the 1990s. The General Directorate of Special Education, Guidance and Counselling Services, under the Ministry of National Education, is the main responsive unit for special education in Türkiye. Today, it supervises 228 regional Guidance and Research Centres across Türkiye which are charged with the diagnosis and placement of students with special educational needs (SENs). These centres are located in all cities and major towns in Türkiye and include qualified teachers and experts. Teachers who have students with SENs in their classrooms believe in the usefulness of inclusive education, but they need to be supported by additional services such as resource rooms, counselling and teaching assistants (Kutay, 2018).

Public employment agencies plan and implement programmes to tackle unemployment and to increase the employability of job seekers. A critical aim is to promote the labour market and social integration of the disadvantaged groups, specifically the disabled, by active and passive measures. İSKUR has provisions tailored to the disabled to promote the social integration, productivity and employability of this group. The job coach model envisages the smooth and effective transition of these individuals to employment, supporting them in their adaptation to the workplace and promoting sustainable employment. This intervention was piloted in 2018 in eight provinces, and by 2021, it had been implemented in 73 centres in 51 provinces. During 2022, it is planned to disseminate it to all the 81 provinces of the country.

Article 3 of the Agreement on the Place of Career Education and Orientation in Assessment of Human Resources, No 142, also states that ‘career guidance services, including continuous supply of employment information, should gradually be made available in order to ensure that guidance is as accessible as possible and to provide extensive information to all children, youth and adults, including special programmes for all people with disabilities. This information and guidance shall include levels of responsibility in career choice, career education and learning opportunities, expectations of employment, promotion opportunities, working conditions, occupational security, hygiene, economic, social and cultural activities and other aspects of the various sectors of working life’ (Kırşehir Provincial National Education Department, 2011).

Source

Sources

Coronavirus Update

At the outset of the COVID-19 crisis, MoNE established a series of policy actions to maintain education services and meet the wider needs of society as a whole. When schools closed on 17 March 2020, Türkiye relied on a strengthened distance education environment to provide teachers, students and parents with a variety of solutions for pedagogical continuity. The solutions covered all classes from primary to secondary education (including VET) and partly consisted of a package of academic, social and psychological support delivered through online teaching, radio, TV broadcasts (such as TRT Okul) and telephone. As early as 23 March 2020, Türkiye was able to provide distance education nationwide to its 18 million students through the Educational Information Network (EBA), the country’s official platform for online education.

Supported by Türkiye’s top three mobile operators that offered all students 8 gigabytes of free data, 12 million K-12 students and 900 000 teachers could access the 1 600 lessons and 20 000 interactive contents on the platform. This made it the second largest State-owned platform for online education at that time, behind China’s. EBA served as a generic hub for distance learning. It hosted several TV programmes, integrated psychological support centres and allowed up to 2.7 million users to hold virtual classrooms at the same time. In June 2020, Türkiye further invested in a project on Safe schooling and distance education with the support of the World Bank. This long-term strategy will finance the development and roll-out of a New Digital Education System (NDES) and the expansion of EBA to enhance the capacity, reach and resilience of Türkiye’s education system during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and future shocks (Vidal, 2020).

MoNE has prepared three booklets as part of its psychosocial support interventions. One is to inform parents about the pandemic and provide suggestions on how to cope with it. The second is for adults and it discusses their feelings and reactions during this period and offers suggestions. The third is for young people. These booklets have been available online for the target groups since the end of March 2020. Further interventions have been put underway to support parents during this process. MoNE has also established a Special Education and Guidance Call Centre to support students, young people and parents in 81 provinces. A digital information brochure has been prepared entitled 11 simple health suggestions on how to protect ourselves from coronavirus. Provincial offices have been informed of the need to promote and set the stage for online guidance interventions and communication between students and guidance practitioners. A parents’ programme has been launched on MoNE’s digital platform to guide parents on the COVID-19 pandemic, which will include videos to support parents and students. Since March 2020, school guidance services and Guidance Research Centres (GRC) have carried out individual and group interventions to support the well-being and resilience of students and parents. A total of 9 818 326 students participated in group interventions and 108 855 students received individual support. School counsellors conducted information meetings and training sessions for students, teachers, administrators and parents. MoNE has focused on providing guidance and counselling services to help people cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. In research and guidance centres in 81 provinces, 10 168 910 parents and 794 768 teachers and administrators received guidance and counselling from the GRCs. Since March 2020, 20 890 859 students, teachers and parents have been supported and the interventions are still continuing.

İSKUR initiated a practice to support the employability of workers by encouraging employers to apply for a limited work allowance. Employers who stopped their activity due to COVID-19 could apply online for this allowance for their workers. Flexible work modes have been promoted within the public and private sectors. Citizens are encouraged to use the online services of İSKUR’s provincial offices and service centres for registration, job searches, CV preparation and application for unemployment allowance. Job and employment counsellors provided online interventions from their homes. During the periods of the COVID-19 pandemic (2019-21) 41 123 301 online services were viewed in İSKUR. To maintain social distancing, fewer face-to-face activities were carried out. Job clubs continued online. Students received online assistance with university entrance procedures and decisions about programmes.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital tools has been perceived as a necessity by teachers, guidance practitioners, students and parents. These tools will be used and disseminated extensively throughout the education system after the COVID-19 pandemic and there is a recognition of the great need to help guidance practitioners to develop their digital skills and, through digitalised services, students’ socioemotional, academic and career development can be supported. The present situation promotes capacity building for professionals on digital skills and a change in attitude to achieving digital transformation in career interventions.

Career conversations were organised and carried out online by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE), for gifted 11-15 years olds: academics, musicians (an internally well-known piano player, an opera singer) and high-level bureaucrats had career conversations with the teenagers to support them with their personal career explorations and the world of work. The programme was only carried out once and is planned to be continued in autumn 2022.

One private university has initiated good practice that could be inspirational for other institutions. The university has a programme entitled: Interview adventure with talent hunters. This face-to-face intervention is now carried on via Zoom. Students could also make online appointments for online interviews via Zoom. The careers activities with different employers that were conducted face-to-face, are now organised online and will be carried on digitally. The career centre of the university is preparing a series of online seminars on personal attributes, competences, knowledge and experience based on recent research conducted on recruiting new graduates. Further, online seminar/seminars on Interview techniques will be performed in April. The career centre will be facilitating all of these activities.

One of the leading universities in Türkiye, the Middle East Technical University, has a new initiative coordinated by the career planning centre of the university. To serve the students online, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new course was started for all freshmen students, entitled: Career planning course. This course aims to support students by developing their employability skills, providing opportunities to explore their career development (national and international exchange programmes, inviting speakers from the world of work), promoting self-awareness, soft skills and entrepreneurship and through alumni stories.

All the job and employment counselling interventions, i.e. face-to-face interventions, group activities, school visits, workplace visits and related activities were reduced/postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plans and preparation for e-guidance provision are in progress by making all the materials and documents accessible online via the İSKUR website and mail, setting the infrastructure for e-guidance for the mid and long term.

The Vocational Qualifications Authority has postponed all validation and exams until the end of April 2020. The Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) also initiated a practice to support the employability of the workers by encouraging employers to apply for a limited work allowance. The employers who had to stop working due to COVID-19 could apply online for this allowance for their workers. Flexible work modalities were also encouraged in the public and private sectors. The job and employment counselling interventions, i.e. face-to-face interventions, group activities, school visits, workplace visits and related activities were reduced/postponed due to COVID-19. E-şube of İŞKUR is still active. Citizens were encouraged to use the online versions of the services of İSKUR provincial offices/service centres, i.e. registration, job search, CV preparation and application for unemployment allowance.

Sources

Country-specific report details

Country report type
Inventory of lifelong guidance systems and practices
Related Country
Related Project
Lifelong Guidance
Related Network
CareersNet
Related landing page
European Year of Skills 2023
Keywords
Guidance and counselling
Turkiye - 2023 update