Turkish vocational sectors face rising costs and insurance disputes

Tailors in Balıkesir, Turkey, are facing significant economic challenges due to rising costs and tax burdens. Nuri Aktürk, President of the Balıkesir Tailors Chamber, reported that increasing expenses have reduced profit margins to the point that some professionals are considering closing their businesses. To combat the shortage of skilled workers, the chamber is working with schools to increase apprenticeship enrollment, which has grown from four to approximately 18 students recently. Additionally, the chamber has updated training equipment with the support of local businesspeople.

In a separate but related discussion regarding vocational labor, Saadet Party Trabzon Provincial Chairman Ahmet Muratoğlu has called for reforms to apprenticeship insurance. He argued that the current social security system, which covers only short-term risks like workplace accidents for apprentices, causes long-term rights losses by not counting these periods toward retirement. Muratoğlu proposed a debt-servicing right (borçlanma) for those who participated in vocational training and emphasized that vocational education should not be treated as a source of cheap labor.