Background to the Programme:
According to 2018 data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), the population of Turkey is 82,003,882, of which 19,247,865 (23.5%) are young people in the 15-29 age group. The youth unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group is 20.3%. This rate is almost double the total unemployment rate of 11%. Beyond this rate, another indicator called NEET reflects the participation of young people in the labor market and their social conditions. According to TurkStat, the term "NEET" includes young people who are unemployed (not in education, employment or training), not in the labor force and not continuing their education (formal education, non-formal education, apprenticeship training). In other words, NEET rate is the share of young people who are not employed or not participating in formal/informal education in the youth population. In 2018, the NEET rate in the 15-19 age group was 17.4%, 20-24 32.2% and 25-29 33.9%. According to 2018 TurkStat Labor Market Survey Statistics, the majority of NEETs among all age groups are women. Especially in the 25-29 age group, the proportion of NEET women is about three times higher than the proportion of NEET men. There are some reasons for being NEET, such as low levels of education and skills, difficulties in transition from school to work, domestic responsibilities, etc., as well as difficulties on the demand side of the labor market. Being NEET has individual, economic and social disadvantages. The inability of young people to participate in the labor market and education negatively affects their economic well-being. Youth unemployment and inactivity can lead to social and psychological problems and loss of self-esteem. Moreover, the length of the process of excluding young people from employment and education brings with it the risk of social exclusion. Considering the negative effects of youth unemployment and inactivity, Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) carries out activities and projects to increase the employment and employability of young people through Active Labour Market Programs such as on-the-job training programs, vocational trainings and counselling. İŞKUR also runs the Job Clubs Project, an intensive job and vocational counseling program that aims to provide methodological and motivational support to specific target groups such as women, youth, people with disabilities, long-term unemployed and people in need of special policies. The high NEET rate is also recognized as a challenge for the European Union (EU). In April 2013, the European Commission's proposal to the Council of the European Union to implement the Youth Guarantee (YG) in all Member States was adopted. Reducing the number of NEETs is an explicit policy objective of the YG. This initiative aims to ensure that all young people aged 15-24 receive a quality offer of employment, continuing education, apprenticeship or traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. Reducing youth unemployment is also one of Turkey's strategic priorities. According to the 11th Development Plan, "NEETs will be profiled and a holistic approach focused on individual, family and community will be developed to support their participation in education, labor force and employment."
The Employment, Education and Social Policies Sectoral Operational Program (EESP SOP) is designed to support Turkey's efforts to develop policies in the areas of employment, education and social policy, where it is believed that Turkey needs to invest more in its human potential. To close the gap with the EU. This grant scheme is intended to support the EESP SOP's "Activity I.II: Promoting Employment and Employability" of the EESP SOP. Under this activity, it is stated as "increasing employment and employability through the implementation of active labor market policies and other policy measures with a focus on the private sector".
Considering the gem that our country has in terms of young population, supporting the participation of young population in employment has been identified as a need within the scope of our project and the general and specific objectives of our project have been created within the scope of this need. With the activities planned to be carried out, it is aimed to contribute to supporting the participation of NEET youth in employment in the target area.
Within the scope of the project, theoretical and practical (on-the-job) cyber security and IT expertise trainings will be provided to 150 NEET candidates, and internship/employment opportunities will be supported with internationally recognized professional competence certificates at the end of the trainings. All expenses of the NEETs who will participate in the project will be covered within the scope of the project and the project vocational training is free of charge. We aim to see our relevant stakeholders, all young people and target groups at our project opening meeting to get more information about the project and to make a free pre-application
