A granite factory in the province of Çankırı cannot find employees to recruit, despite offering a starting rate of TL 1,100 ($410.12), slightly above the minimum wage, and the 11.2 percent unemployment rate. The indoor facility, which is spread over an approximately 1.2 million-square-meter area, has had difficulty finding the 1,000 employees it needs. Kenan Çebi, a senior executive at the plant, said they currently employ 660 workers, but they urgently need an additional 1,000 staff.Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Çebi described the difficulties they experience concerning finding employees in the region, and stressed they recruit staff from the surrounding provinces of Karabük and Kastamonu. "The job advertisement that we announced via the Turkish Employment Organization (İŞKUR) in 81 provinces proved ineffective," Çebi said, adding that they are attempting to hire employees from Georgia in order to operate the factory at full capacity.Çebi said there will be no housing problems for employees who come from outside the province, as the facility has housing units that can accommodate up to 300 individuals, in addition to the Housing Development Administration's (TOKİ) new project to construct 900 houses for new recruits. Çebi said they pay factory employees TL 1,100 and TL 1,500 per month for unqualified and qualified workers, respectively, and all employees are provided with insurance. As it is technology-based, the granite factory is also in need of chemical, electrical, electronic, mechanical, industrial, environmental and ceramics engineers. Experienced and inexperienced engineers are paid TL 3,000 and TL 2,000 per month, respectively.The factory exports its products to Israel, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, France, Greece, the U.K. and the U.S., and has an annual production capacity of 90 million square meters. Although the plant currently has a granite production output of 12 million square meters, it will reach its full capacity only after filling the vacant positions.