Austria’s advantage lies in its vocational education system. For education it is vital to listen to local needs.

Turkey is moving at a pace slower than what we are used to in terms of growth. And it appears that this will remain the case for some time more. We all know what happens in such episodes: the unemployment rate starts to increase. When this happens, it is important to give the priority to youth employment. Europe has done this in the last five years. But this has not been the case in Austria. Austria is different. After examining their case, I started to think that it is time to change the image and the content of our vocational training system. I believe vocational education needs rebranding. Let me tell you why and how.

As the European crisis has continued, the suffering of the youth has been aggravated. Youth unemployment in Europe has risen steadily. On average, one-fourth of the young people of Europe are unemployed. The rates go beyond 50 percent in Greece and Spain. One of each two young persons in the labor force is unemployed. But not in Austria. The unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group is as low as 8.1 percent in that country. It is less than ten percent. The youth unemployment rate is less than 10 percent also in Germany and Switzerland. Naturally, this made me wonder, what is different in Austria?

What is it, really? I will skip simplistic and ignorant interpretations such as “Austria does not have any youth” and get down to the point. The main distinctive feature between Austria, Germany, and Switzerland and other crisis countries is that the former have strong vocational training systems based on public-private partnership. What makes the difference is the dual education system that involves private sector corporations. Children acquire professions when they are young. Also, they can actually practice the profession by working in private sector corporations. How does the system work? Students who prefer vocational education system continue their schools and work in private sector corporations at the same time. Country examples suggest that this is a good way to deal with youth unemployment.

Whenever the dual education system issue comes up in Turkey, Officials from the Ministry of National Education of Turkey say, “We have that system already.” Let me begin with that, then. Turkey does not have the dual education system in place. First, there is no way out if the image of vocational schools is not changed. Young people in Turkey perceive vocational school as schools for losers. This perception is shared by employers, too. Turkey needs “Entrepreneurship Colleges,” let say, to train young people who are willing to run their own business and make their livings the hard way.

There is no way out unless the vocational education system is rebranded as a whole. It would be useful to come up with a new brand other than that of the vocational high school. Second, the weight of the private sector in vocational education must be increased and the sector must be considered a partner. Up to this point, Turkey has abided by the traditional scheme: build the school, delegate administration to the Ministry of National Education; they will know what to do. And this is where we have arrived. Unlike Turkey, in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, there are channels for participation in the design and operation of the education system. The third challenge stems from the second. Turkey has to admit the need for decentralization in education. The central government should not act on its own in every field as if it is competent in each and every one of them. Turkey is the most centralized of the unitary states. Under this structure, the conviction that governing a state means taking local decisions from the center not necessarily with awareness about local issues diffuses into the veins of everyone concerned. That’s the main challenge. There is no way out unless decentralization is internalized.

The key problem concerning vocational education in Turkey is the current system of national education and current vocational schools per se. Austria’s advantage lies in its vocational education system. For education it is vital to listen to the local needs. This is what I see.

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 16.07.2013