This study analyses the labour force, the challenges of skill shortages, and skill mismatch in Türkiye in the context of the country's economic conditions, education system, and immigration. Drawing on a comprehensive literature review and the analysis of statistical data from primary and secondary national and international sources in addition to a total of 37 interviews (19 company managers considering the top five sectors with labour shortages, 15 educational institution administrators, and 3 policy makers) from different regions of Türkiye, the research describes the current employment structure as well as the supply and demand for skills in the country. By making an in-depth thematic analysis in the interview records, the current employment structure, skill supply and demand profile in the country, and the impacts of immigration have been examined. Qualitative data gathered from different sources put forward that despite its high population and a large proportion of young people; Türkiye faces various obstacles to the effective use of this workforce. Factors contributing to this controversy include destabilization in the economy, the discrepancies between education and the labour market needs, and inadequate policies to closing the skill gap and the discrepancy between the supply and demand for skills in the country. Rapid developments in technology can also lead to mismatches in the skills of new graduates. Migration stands out as a factor that shapes Türkiye's employment market. A significant disadvantage for immigrations and emigrants is related to dequalification and deskilling. According to the interviews, stakeholders have contradictory evaluations regarding the skill demand and supply trends in Türkiye. While education providers consider the skills developed through their educational programs to be harmonious with the labour market and find the quality of on-the-job training provided by some businesses poor, sector representatives and policy makers state that there is a mismatch between the skills acquired in the vocational and technical education process and the demands of the sector. The desktop study supports the views of the latter group, with high skill mismatch rates. The sector is challenged with shortage of technical staff, and the highly skilled either work in low-skill jobs or go abroad resulting in brain drain. To conclude, undocumented immigrant labour is rather common in small-scale enterprises and is perceived as a factor in the decrease of wages and increase in the unemployment of the native workforce. To tackle these problems, several policies, including education-sector collaboration to align skills, are being developed, and they may have positive impacts if they are successfully implemented.
Babadoğan et al. (Tue,) studied this question.