A Foundation Laid for Skilled Workforce

The Ministry of Industry and Technology has taken an important step to direct young people toward the industrial sector and develop a skilled workforce. Under the coordination of the General Directorate of Development Agencies, which is subordinate to the Ministry, the Marmara Development Agency (MARKA) will provide 2,000 people per year with applied training through TRY 10 million in financing support. Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank laid the foundation stone for the İstanbul Metal Craftsmen Cooperative (İMES) Organized Industrial Zone Applied Advanced Engineering Excellence Center. Among those attending the ceremony were Varank, Kocaeli Governor Seddar Yavuz, Metropolitan Mayor Tahir Büyükakın, Kocaeli Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu, and İMES Organized Industrial Zone Board Chairman İrfan Küçükay. Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank said at the foundation-laying ceremony for the Applied Advanced Engineering Excellence Center: "We attach great importance to directing young people toward the industrial sector and developing them in this field. University-industry cooperation projects will be implemented at the center. Nearly 3,000 companies will increase their innovative product development capacity."

TRY 16 MILLION PROJECT

Minister Varank stated: "The Applied Advanced Engineering Excellence Center, whose foundations we are laying today, is critical in this regard. Of the TRY 16 million project, TRY 10 million will be financed by our development agency. With the implementation of this center, applied training will be provided annually to 2,000 people to develop the skilled workforce needed by industry, university-industry cooperation projects will be implemented, and the innovative product development capacity of nearly 3,000 companies, including neighboring organized industrial zones, will increase." Varank noted that industrial production increased 17.4% in May compared to April and shared important data. Minister Varank stated: "In June, 1,421 new industrial enterprises were established. This represents a 91% increase compared to last year. New factories continue to be opened in organized industrial zones, with 606 production facilities becoming operational in the first half of the year. In the first six months, incentive applications increased 14% compared to last year. The shift of deferred consumption toward investments is certainly encouraging. Of course, what matters is ensuring that this trend becomes stable and sustained. When we look at expectations and external demand channels, we can also see improvement there. In the first two weeks of July, electricity consumption in industry surpassed both the April-June period and the same period in March. In other words, for the first time in the last three months, we are surpassing March figures. The path to becoming an indispensable player in global competition runs through investing in innovation. Based on this approach, we positioned the technology hub that will shape Turkey's future in Kocaeli, in the Information Technology Valley. We presented the prototype vehicles of Turkey's Automobile to our public here.

Since December, there has been a 50% increase in company applications to the valley. The number of resident companies has increased from 79 to 112.

International technology companies serving the automotive sector have begun to make this a center of attraction. EDAG, which holds an important position in the automotive industry, has established its presence in the valley. EDAG has also signed a contract with another international company, FEV. This company is considering the Information Technology Valley for its expansion plans. Stating that they want to make the valley also a center for technology-based entrepreneurship, Industry Minister Varank said: "To this end, we have begun work on establishing a TRY 100 million Venture Capital Investment Fund. We want to evaluate projects in areas such as transportation, communications, Internet of Things, finance, cybersecurity, robotics and automation through this fund. With the financing of the Istanbul and Marmara Development Agencies, we established the Turkey Open Source Platform in partnership with the Information Technology Valley and TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE. Of course, our private sector companies and NGOs are also part of this. With this platform, we aim to produce critical software needed by the public and private sectors, expand our country's pool of software developers, and reduce our dependence on external sources in software. Through the Open Source Platform, we will organize coding training programs and open software schools. One of these schools will be established in the Information Technology Valley. This way, we will give our youth new capabilities in different areas of technology. Along with this, we also attach great importance to directing young people toward the industrial sector and developing them in this field.

Consulting support will be provided to companies on lean production and productivity, and businesses wishing to conduct R&D will be able to benefit from the center's design and advanced engineering programs.

Companies will also be able to take advantage of the center's prototyping, manufacturing, testing and measurement capabilities. In this way, both human capital and the competencies of companies in neighboring organized industrial zones will develop and diversify," he said. Kocaeli Governor Seddar Yavuz stated that Kocaeli is a science, industry and technology hub, adding: "In this sense, we witness that our government stands by our industrialists. We need to meet the requirement to develop qualified personnel for Turkey—competitive, innovative, and competing with the world." Kocaeli Metropolitan Mayor Tahir Büyükakın said they take great pride in seeing the power of industry and inaugurating new facilities. İMES Organized Industrial Zone Board Chairman Küçükay emphasized that the zone has reached 80% occupancy, saying: "Our employment is 8,350. We are the best machinery cluster in Turkey in terms of occupancy and employment numbers."