İŞKUR enables Syrians to join labor force in Turkey

The Turkish Employment Organization (İŞKUR) provides vocational training courses for Syrian citizens who are under temporary protection. In addition to vocational training courses aimed at enabling Syrians under temporary protection to join the work force, they are also given the right to take advantage of entrepreneurial programs.

Answering questions from deputies, Labor and Social Security Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu said a total of 1,778 Syrians have been granted work permits since the beginning of 2016. He added that İŞKUR provides vocational, on-the-job and entrepreneurial training programs to Syrian nationals under temporary protection.

Referring to the legislation that brought work permits to Syrians on Jan. 15, Müezzinoğlu stated that the number of Syrians with work permits would increase. Syrians under temporary protection constitute 27 percent of those given work permits. A total of 241 employers who were found to illegally employ Syrian nationals have been fined this year.

Moreover, one Syrian doctor and three Syrian teachers have been given permission to work. So far, only 10 percent of applications for work permits have been rejected as they were found to go against legal procedures and principles. Temporarily protected Syrians who work in seasonal agriculture or livestock jobs are exempt from work permits. They can directly apply to employment offices or agencies in provinces.