Within the scope of UNDP Turkey Resilience Project in Response to the Syria Crisis (TRP), the "Menswear Sewing Course" that aims to contribute to the development of professional skills and the employment of Syrians living under temporary protection and host community members in İzmir took place between the dates of 12 October 2020 and 8 January 2021.

Turkey Resilience Project in response to the Syria Crisis (TRP), which is being implemented under UNDP's Syria Crisis Response and Resilience Portfolio, continues to contribute to the lives of disadvantaged groups through vocational training and job creation. Within the framework of the "Job Creation Component" of the Project, the professional skills and employability of Syrians residing in İzmir under temporary protection as well as the members of the host community will be improved thanks to the "Menswear Sewing Course" that was held and the "Computerized Design Course" that is to start in the coming weeks.

The "Menswear Sewing Course" was held within the Textile Machinery Operators Training and Harmonization Centre in Karabağlar, where urban poverty is experienced intensely in various ways, within the scope of the project carried out in cooperation with İzmir Governorship, İzmir Chamber of Shirt-Knitwear and Similar Products, Association for Solidarity with Asylum-Seekers and Migrants (ASAM), Egedeniz Tekstil A.Ş. and UNDP Turkey. Consisting of 6 women and 3 men, a total of 9 trainees of whom 8 are Syrians under temporary protection and 1 is of Turkish nationality have successfully completed their 272-hour training and will be directed to employment opportunities at various levels of the textile industry. In addition to vocational trainings, A1 level Turkish language courses targeting the Syrians under temporary protection are also conducted with the aim of supporting their integration into economic and social life.

Güvenç Küçüktok, UNDP Turkey Field Program Officer, stated that, in cooperation with all stakeholders of the project, they managed to turn the Textile Machinery Operators Training and Harmonization Centre in Karabağlar into a highly effective vocational training unit where both communities come and produce together despite all the restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic and unfortunate earthquake that happened in İzmir last year. Küçüktok further added that they aim to contribute to the development of professional knowledge and skills, especially in areas such as design which offers high-value jobs and better wages.

Ezgi Arslan, UNDP Projects Coordinator, also stressed that in the upcoming period, especially after the global pandemic, means of livelihood will be of greater significance; however, at this point, increasing the resilience of vulnerable segments of society against successive crises through productivity, innovation and the resistance of high value-added local economies will prove to be important.

In this respect, TRP offers a great opportunity for the inclusion of Syrians and Turkish citizens in the active labour market more quickly and appropriately. Thus, it sets an example for developing new jobs and livelihoods and thereby increasing the resilience of Syrians under temporary protection and host communities.

Centred on economic integration, social cohesion, local capacity enhancement and regional development, Turkey Resilience Project in response to the Syria Crisis (TRP) focuses on proposing sustainable and resilience-oriented solutions for Syrian individuals residing under temporary protection in Turkey and host community members to cope with the effects of the Syrian crisis. The Project is implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Technology, Ilbank and the Ministry of National Education and is financed by the EU.