TÜROB to give its name to a vocational high school.

TÜROB signed a protocol with the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education to change the name of the Şişli Kervansaray Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School to the 'TÜROB 50th Anniversary Şişli Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School'.

The Association of Turkish Hoteliers (TÜROB), having left half a century behind, continues to expand its activities in the field of education. Having set the slogan of its 50th anniversary as 'Education in Tourism', TÜROB launched its institutional cooperation with vocational high schools that provide hotel management and tourism education following the agreement reached with the Ministry of National Education (MEB). The first step of this project was taken with the protocol signed with the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education to change the name of the Şişli Kervansaray Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School to the 'TÜROB 50th Anniversary Şişli Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School'. The name change is expected to be implemented after the MEB's approval process is completed. This past February, TÜROB had also launched the 'Vocational Training Centers' project, implemented together with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the MEB and aimed at training qualified human resources for the tourism sector, in Istanbul as the pilot province.

Qualified workforce for the sector

TÜROB President Müberra Eresin, providing information about TÜROB's education efforts, said: "On the very first day I was elected president three years ago, I shared that our most important goal would be contributing to education, and afterwards, together with our board of directors, we had set the motto of TÜROB's 50th anniversary as education. Seeing that the biggest problem to be faced in the coming years in the field of tourism, which has experienced contraction worldwide for two years due to the pandemic, would be qualified human resources, we accelerated our work in cooperation with our Ministries and universities during this period as well in order to meet this need. As a sector, we focused on the near future when the effects of the pandemic will disappear." Noting that, especially during the pandemic period, TÜROB provided vocational training on various subjects, both in person and online, to nearly 50 thousand sector employees through its educational activities, Eresin stated that they did not limit their educational efforts solely to sector employees. She noted that during this process they came together in joint projects with Darüşşafaka and TED, and that, independently of TÜROB, they also encouraged members to increase their contributions to education. Eresin emphasized that the number of schools with which TÜROB will cooperate and provide support will also be rapidly increased.

Target: employment for 20 thousand people in tourism

Noting that the 'Vocational and Technical Education Development Project', carried out in cooperation between the MEB and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, was implemented this past February in Istanbul, which was selected as the pilot province, Eresin said the following about this project: "Our goal with this project is to provide education and employment to 20 thousand people in the first stage. At the 'Vocational Training Centers', students who wish to study, with no age limit and provided they are at least middle school graduates, are accepted into on-the-job training after an interview conducted at the businesses. The students at the centers, where the duration of study will be 4 years,

will take vocational theoretical courses, mainly in foreign languages, at school for 1 day a week, and on-the-job training at hotels for 5 days, reaching the levels of apprentice, journeyman and master over the years, and will be entitled to receive a high school diploma in addition to these certificates. The students' health insurance premiums, along with their wages at the rate of one-third of the minimum wage for the first 2 years and half for the last two years, will be covered by our Ministry of Labor and Social Security as a 'state contribution'. At the end of the education process, we expect the majority of the students to be employed in our businesses as qualified human resources."

Inter-high school cooking competition to continue

Recalling that since 2018 TÜROB has been organizing an inter-high school cooking competition called 'Sector Hunting for Talent' in order to build a bridge between the tourism and hotel management sector and vocational high schools, Eresin said: "Gastronomy is undoubtedly one of the most attractive tourism products and travel motivations of recent years. As in every area within the tourism sector, gastronomy too relies heavily on qualified workforce and experience. Therefore, young people are our most important advantage and assurance in this regard. Our goal is to present the most beautiful and meaningful examples of school–sector cooperation in a sustainable way. As the accommodation sector, we continue to seek out all qualified employees who graduate from tourism vocational high schools."