An analysis of the alignment between on-the-job training programs and labor market requirements: The case of Kırşehir province

This study examines whether the vocational training programs implemented by the Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) adequately meet the requirements of the labor market. These programs fail to encompass the majority of the unemployed population in Turkey, whose most pressing employment-related problem is educated unemployment. On-the-job training schemes were originally designed to equip unskilled individuals with vocational qualifications and thereby facilitate their integration into the labor market. However, in practice, training courses have predominantly targeted occupational groups that do not require on-the-job training, rather than those in genuine need of practical skill acquisition. In particular, it has been observed that practices allowing higher education graduates—who constitute the group with the highest demand for such programs—to gain work experience through on-the-job training in low-skill courses do not produce a lasting impact on employment. The findings indicate that the on-the-job training programs, which are intended to increase employment and reduce unemployment, are not aligned with the actual needs of the labor market. Consequently, their effects on employment remain limited to the short term and are unlikely to generate sustainable improvements in employment levels in the long run.