Syrians could fulfill jobs unwanted by Turks, say employer rep

The government's recent decision to enable Syrians to be employed in Turkey will present a win-win for both Turks and Syrians, says Bülent Pirler, secretary general of Turkish Confederation of Employer Association. They can be employed in jobs unwanted by Turks, he says, while emphasizing the need for educationTurkish employers could give work to Syrians in sectors in which Turks do not want to work, the head of the Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations (T?SK) has said, even while admitting the possibility of short-term problems with unemployment.

Teaching Turkish as well as providing basic education and vocational training are critical in terms of the implementation phase following a recent decree by the Labor Ministry, according to Bülent Pirler. 

Can you give us the general evaluation of the business world about the Syrian issue?

In the report prepared by T?SK, we have seen that 60 to 70 percent of Syrians do not have the intention of going back. A large portion of the Syrians who came to Turkey have a low educational level. We are faced by an uneducated crowd. There is a high birthrate among them; the number of newborns is estimated to be somewhere around 170,000. What will be their rights, what will be their effect on the economy? We are faced by several challenges. Turkey has passed the test until now with its open-door policy, but there are a lot of steps needed to take from now on.

An organization of this dimension needs to be administered. This cannot be managed solely by the state. We need to have a civil society dimension working together with the state. We need a governance model, whereby the design at the center needs to be duplicated at the local level. It is through this model that decisions that...