"In this century, in which international competition is dominant, we cannot compete in the world with institutions that would accept their students from one door and send them to the real world through another door by putting diplomas in their hands after 4 or 5 years." said the president of the Human Resources Office of the Presidency, Salim Atay.
The "Eastern Anatolia Career Fair", hosted by Erzurum Technical University (ETU) under the auspices of the Presidency, was opened with a ceremony at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Fair Center.
In his speech in the opening ceremony, Salim Atay said that, with such fairs, they do not do anything for the temporary and symbolic agendas, rather, these activities will continue for years. Atay, who believes that every citizen of the country is a talent on their own, said "Our young people must perceive themselves as talent and behave in this way. As Human Resources Office, such fairs are not our only practices related to young people. They are not the only tool we have developed for them."
Atay also stated that this career fair included Turkey's largest brands, along with Erzurum’s local brands and national and international branches of the public sector. Atay expressed that such fairs are places where young people can find internships, part-time job opportunities, and support for their projects.
Emphasizing that the number of unemployed people in Turkey has been speculated continuously, Atay said:
"There are economies in the world that we like a lot or compare with ourselves today. Do you know how many applications a university graduate makes on average in such economies? Let me tell you. They make around 25 to 34 applications whereas the number is around 9 to 11 in our system. We do not spend enough effort looking for a job, we do not try hard enough. We are a big and strong country with a population of more than 82 million people that produces a gross national product close to $ 1 trillion. Do you think that in countries that generate more gross national product than us, that have more advanced technologies and improvements in science, people find a job easily as soon as they finish school? As the economy grows, as the production increases, competition increases. So, we need to strive and work harder. "
After stating that such fairs are held in 8 regions of Turkey with the combined effort of 87 universities, Atay reported that around 1300 companies have attended the fairs.
Upon stating that all of these collaborating universities would establish their own career centers, Atay concluded his speech with these words:
"I now appeal to the 12 rectors attending this fair. If you don't have a career center in your universities, please set one up as soon as possible. In this century, in which international competition is dominant, we cannot compete in the world with institutions that would accept their students from one door and send them to the real world through another door by putting diplomas in their hands after 4 or 5 years. We have to know where they are after graduation, what they do, how much their jobs relate to the education they received. We, as the Human Resources Office, have done the necessary work on this issue, and we will announce the findings to our rectors soon. "
Governor of Erzurum Okay Memiş, AK Party Erzurum MPs Recep Akdağ, Zehra Taşkesenlioğlu, Mayor of Erzurum Mehmet Sekmen, Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor Burhan Bölükbaşı and Rector of ETU Dr. Bülent Çakmak gave a speech at the opening as well.
AK Party Erzurum MP Selami Altınok, Gendarmerie Regional Commander Major General Hacıoğlu, Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Senior Colonel Bekir Uzun, Provincial Police Chief Ahmet Arslan, Erzurum Ataturk University Rector. Dr. Ömer Çomaklı, the rectors and academicians of various universities and a large number of guests participated in the program. After the opening ribbon was cut, the participants toured the fair.