LABOUR FORCE ANALYSIS OF SAKARYA'S INDUSTRY AND DEVELOPMENT OF A VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ROADMAP (TR42/25/TD/0012)
Funder: T.C. Eastern Marmara Development Agency (MARKA),
Applicant: Sakarya Provincial Directorate of National Education,
Project Lead: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ümmügülsüm Zor (SESAM), Duration: 2025, 6 months.
The study analysed the current structure of Sakarya's industry and the technology levels of its sectors, benchmarked the province's vocational and technical education system against national indicators, and produced an evidence-based vocational education roadmap for the Sakarya Provincial Directorate of National Education, universities, and organised industrial zone (OSB) administrations. It applied a mixed-methods design combining secondary analysis of data from the Ministry of National Education (MEB), the Council of Higher Education (YÖK), TÜİK, SGK, MARKA, SATSO, OSBÜK, and İŞKUR covering the 2005–2024 period with original field data. The findings showed that the concentration of the automotive, metal, and machinery sectors generates sustained demand for technical human capital, that gender-based horizontal segregation in vocational education extends into the labour market, and that industrial demand concentrated along the Arifiye–Hendek axis needs to be redistributed to surrounding districts. Based on these findings, the report set out medium-to-long-term projections and regional policy recommendations.
