The President of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye Human Resources Office Salim Atay gave information about the National Internship Program.
Atay stated that the program is an innovative approach and he added that they have established a system that prioritizes transparency and merit in line, with the principle of accessibility within the framework of equality of opportunity from anywhere in Türkiye. Stating that this system is announced on certain dates of the year and internship applications are received, he also noted that the program, which started 4 years ago, attracted a lot of interest.
Atay said that, "We opened the 2024 National Internship Program applications to students on December 28, we received applications until mid-March and the system was closed. We have an evaluation process for a month, this has been completed. As of today, we are opening the system to employers."
Emphasizing that the number of people doing internships is increasing every year, Atay noted that 179 thousand students completed their internships out of 407 thousand applications in 2023. Atay also stated that, "This year our number of applications is 415 thousand, last year we closed with (received 179 thousand internshipsThis year we aim to exceed 200 thousand."
Emphasizing that one of the most important features of the system is that institutions and companies cannot see the demographic information of students. Additionally he stated that students' competencies and skills are evaluated for internship applications.
Atay explained that during the internship application process, they take the initiative to inform young people about what to pay attention to from the moment they enter university. He stated: "As a result, we have an ecosystem. This system consists of 11 different products and tools that we have developed to combat youth employment and unemployment, starting from the last year of secondary education until they secure a job. All of these tools are integrated with each other, and any student who is a citizen of the Republic of Türkiye can use any of these systems free of charge and benefit from them without any limitations. Regardless of which university or city in Türkiye the student studies, they can use these tools to elevate their career to the level of their peers in universities that we consider to be relatively more advantageous."
"Talented young people are also in this system"
Stating that the satisfaction rates of employers and young people with the program are high, Atay stated that the number of internship applications increased 26 times from 2020 to 2023.
Atay continued as follows: "When we examine the applicant profile, we observe that there are students from two-year colleges as well as a significant number of students ranking within the top 100 and top 1,000 in Türkiye. In fact, this year's data indicates an increase ranging from 21 percent to 107 percent in the applications from students with relatively high scores, such as those within Türkiye's top 100 and top 1,000. This demonstrates that any 2-year associate degree student is also in demand when they enter this system because there is a segment of employers that are eager to benefit from them. Furthermore, students we refer to as talents are also part of this system, they are receiving offers from institutions and companies that match their expertise. Consequently, it creates a transparent and homogeneous structure."
Stating that the satisfaction rate of those who went on internship was 86.4 percent, Atay said that over 5 thousand public institutions and over 2 thousand private sector organizations sent offers to applicants.
"Cited as an example to the world by the OECD"
Mentioning that there are (implementations in the program this year and that the documents uploaded by young people to the system are checked by artificial intelligence, Atay continued his statements as follows: "The name of the artificial intelligence model is FARUK. FARUK means distinguishing right from wrong. The artificial intelligence model will work this year and will send an e-mail to students who intentionally or unintentionally uploaded the wrong document. The system will give feedback to the students who upload the wrong document by saying ‘ You uploaded the wrong document. We think this happened by mistake, but you shouldn't make such a mistake in real life.'
Stating that the system works very well because it can bring supply and demand together on an objective platform, Atay reminded that the National Internship Program was highlighted by the OECD as a model to the world.
Pointing out that their work has a scientific background, Atay mentioned that this year, the General Directorate of National Technology of the Ministry of Industry and Technology will also be able to receive internship applications under its own brand.
"We are working towards youth employment"
Atay emphasized that in addition to internship opportunities, this year, "job shadowing" and "training" practices, which were piloted in 2023, were also included.
Stating that they have a study on youth employment, He noted that the rate of unemployed university students, which was 28 percent, dropped to 18 percent and that the contribution of the National Internship Program and Career Fairs to employment in the 20-24 age group was 6.1 percent. He also expressed that, "With these scores, we were able to get ahead of many countries in the Mediterranean Basin, which we consider developed for the first time."