Source: pagev.net

PAGEV Schools Are Ready for the 2019-2020 Academic Year

Turkey, the world’s 6th and Europe’s 2nd largest plastic producer, hosts over 14,000 firms in the plastic sector, employing more than 250,000 people. With the sector’s growth and export potential, the demand for skilled personnel is rising every day, making vocational and technical high schools increasingly important. The Turkish Plastics Industry Research, Development, and Education Foundation (PAGEV) continues its educational mission to address the sector’s growing need for qualified workforce.

PAGEV gives special importance to education as part of its initiatives to advance the industry. Having long considered the issue of skilled labor in the sector and running projects to address it, PAGEV also makes a difference through the schools it has established.

Today, the plastic industry needs around 25,000 trained professionals. To meet this demand, PAGEV has opened the PAGEV Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Gebze and the PAGEV Plastic Technology Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Küçükçekmece.

Supporting Education with Turkey’s First Plastic Excellence Center

Guided by the principle that schools must be centers of science, PAGEV has laid the foundation in March for the PAGEV Plastic Excellence Center under the auspices of the Ministry of Science, Industry, and Technology. Located on the campus of Küçükçekmece PAGEV Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, the center will offer a total of 30,000 square meters of indoor space. With an investment of 70 million TRY, the center will be completed in three phases, with the first phase expected to be operational within 2021 to serve companies in the plastic industry.

The PAGEV Plastic Excellence Center will provide research, certification, testing, and laboratory services not only to the plastics sector but also to the product, raw material, and machinery equipment industries. It will collaborate with industrial organizations, universities, research institutions, professional associations, and NGOs for the production of products using the latest technology. Additionally, it will offer vocational and technical training, along with consultancy services. The center will also establish a control mechanism for exported products, contributing to the reliability and reputation of Turkish-made plastic products in international markets. Laboratory tests of imported plastics before official import will prevent the entry of low-quality or non-standard products into Turkey.

Support for SMEs in the Plastic Industry

About 95% of the firms in the plastic sector are SMEs. While producing a high volume of quality products, these companies often sell at low prices due to the low added value and face profit challenges. Many SMEs lack the resources for testing, R&D, consultancy, and training. The PAGEV Plastic Excellence Center will meet these needs, supporting SMEs in R&D, innovation, consultancy, and training, contributing to higher-value production. It will serve industrialists from across Turkey efficiently and cost-effectively, from a single center.

Opening Ceremony of the 2019-2020 Academic Year

At the 2019-2020 Academic Year Opening Ceremony held at Küçükçekmece PAGEV Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, Yavuz Eroğlu, Chairman of PAGEV, PAGÇEV, and SEM Plastik, said:
“We are investing in human resources for the future of the sector. We aim to support you, dear students, by removing obstacles and coaching you to prepare for the future. We welcome the new academic year with as much enthusiasm as you do. I wish a successful year to our principal, teachers, students, and staff. As PAGEV, we will continue to pave the way for our students on their journey to the future. I would like to thank the company representatives and ISO 35 Committee Member Mr. Celal Altan for attending the ceremony. Intensive preparations have been made at our vocational schools. We have completed all works including painting, maintenance, furnishings, cleaning, heating, and construction to ensure our students learn in a healthy environment. Special thanks to our hardworking Board Member responsible for education, Eren Ünlü.”

Acting Principal Ömer Hançer stated:
“We thank PAGEV for their support and close attention to our school. We are aware of the expectations of PAGEV and the sector, and we strive to train young people who will contribute to the industry’s future. Eren Ünlü, our Board Member responsible for education, is fully engaged with our teachers and students. Together, we are working hard for our students. We aim to train young technicians who love their profession and have high competencies.”

ISO 35 Committee Member Celal Altan said:
“First of all, I thank Chairman Yavuz Eroğlu for inviting me to the opening. As ISO, we see supporting the PAGEV school as a duty on behalf of the sector. We visit the school to understand what we can do. We stand alongside PAGEV in vocational education.”

Praise for Effort and Dedication

Yavuz Eroğlu emphasized the importance of the Ministry of National Education, Minister Ziya Selçuk, Deputy Minister Mahmut Özer, and their team for Turkey:
“We are closely witnessing their efforts and transformation in education. PAGEV’s support for its schools and the Excellence Center, alongside their understanding and problem-solving approach to industry issues, is very meaningful for us. We will continue working closely with the Ministry to prepare our students for the sector. We have visited Istanbul Provincial Director of Education Levent Yazıcı and Deputy Director Serkan Gür multiple times before the school opened. Their commitment to improving vocational education in collaboration with industry is clear.”

Eroğlu offered advice to students:
“If you set your dreams as goals, you cannot even imagine the point you will reach. A failed venture can prevent you from evaluating your work correctly. That is why it is better to honor failed attempts. Courageously pursuing your dreams should be your main goal. Success is the ups and downs of the journey, not the final result.”

During the opening ceremony, teachers at PAGEV MTAL presented flowers to Yavuz Eroğlu. Touched by the gesture, he said:
“Our teachers are our most valuable resource. Without them, our educational investments would be just steel and concrete. I give this flower, thoughtfully presented to me, to its true owners—our teachers.”