TİKA Supports Vocational Education Infrastructure of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) renewed the practice workshops and provided equipment to the textile department of Mladost vocational high school in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zenica.

Zenica, the fourth largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, stands out in the manufacturing sector with its industrial capacity. Thus, there are a number of vocational high schools and training workshops to train the intermediate staff in the city, where there are a lot of manufacturers especially working in the fields of metal and textile. Established on April 4, 1941, Zenica Mladost Vocational High School makes significant contributions to the training of intermediate staff needed in the fields of traffic (driving training), construction, electrotechnics, textiles and hairdressing.

The school, having 464 students and 90 educators, makes significant contributions to overcoming the lack of job opportunities and trained personnel. The textile department of the school has been welcomed by students and parents, especially since students graduating from the textile department can find jobs in the factories and workshops.

Carrying out a project to improve the quality of education, TİKA renovated the practice workshops within the textile department of Mladost vocational high school and equipped them with modern materials.

Turkish Ambassador to Sarajevo Sadık Babür Girgin, Zenica-Doboj Canton Education, Science, Culture and Sports Minister Spahija Kozlic, Chamber of Commerce President Diana Babiç, TİKA’S Sarajevo Coordinator Muhammed Ünal, teachers working in the manufacturing workshops, students and members of the press attended the opening ceremony of the renovated and equipped textile practice workshops.

In his speech at the ceremony, Ambassador Girgin stated that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan emphasized the importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina for our country during his visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina last week and that Zenica, where Turkish soldiers have resided for more than 25 years, has a special position regarding the relations between the two countries. Girgin expressed his pleasure to contribute to the development of the school, which has a history of 80 years, through TİKA.

Zenica-Doboj Canton Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Spahija Kozlic said in his speech that this project is just one of the projects that TİKA has implemented in Zenica and is an important example of improving the education system. Thanking the Republic of Turkey and TİKA for the support provided, Kozlic stated that in order to implement new projects, they are working closely with the organizations in our country working in the field.

Speaking at the ceremony, TİKA’s Sarajevo Program Coordinator Muhammed Ünal said that the project will contribute to the better education of female students, who are mainly educated in the textile department having high employment opportunities, and have more roles in business life. Ünal emphasized the importance of the project that will enable young people, who have to immigrate to other countries for a better future and to find a job, to feel that they can work in their country and gain their economic freedom, and stated that they will focus on capacity building projects to transfer experience in the future.