“Our goal is to provide internships to 800,000 young people in three years.”

Minister of Labor and Social Security Işıkhan made statements and answered questions in the live broadcast on TVNET television.

Stating that the ministry's focus is on “protecting and increasing employment,” Işıkhan said that the “Youth Production Age” (POWER) project implemented by İŞKUR is important in this context.

Pointing out that the youth unemployment rate is higher than the general unemployment rate, Işıkhan said: “We only focused on our youth here. Because young people are our future,” he said.

Pointing out that schoolchildren and students have difficulty finding institutions or companies for internships, Işıkhan said:

“The internship program was previously implemented by the President's Personnel Office. The implementation began with the National Internship Program of İŞKUR. While about 120,000 young people were previously offered the opportunity for work internships, we as İŞKUR have received 333,000 applications so far. This year, we are trying to expand our capacity and enroll 200,000 students in the internship program. In this context, we would like to offer internships 800,000 young people in 3 years.”

Stating that May 1st Labor and Solidarity Day is approaching, Minister Işıkhan congratulated all employees on May 1st Labor and Solidarity Day.

Recalling that May 1, 2009 was declared a public holiday as “Labor and Solidarity Day,” Işıkhan said:

“May 1st is no longer celebrated in conflicts as it was before. Our President's declaration to declare May 1st a public holiday has a great impact. There is now a democratic maturity in society on this issue.