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Graduates Struggle to Join Workforce in Turkey as Job Market Tightens in 2024

Unemployment

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), a substantial portion of university graduates in Turkey remain outside the workforce. In 2024, 25% of bachelor’s degree holders and 32.3% of associate degree holders were unable to enter formal employment.

TÜİK’s latest bulletin, titled “Higher Education Employment Indicators – 2024“, reveals that the employment rate among bachelor’s degree graduates stood at 75%, while associate degree graduates saw a rate of 67.7%.

However, a deeper look at registered employment rates (those covered by Turkey’s social security system) shows a slight decline compared to 2023:

  • Bachelor’s degree graduates: ↓ from 75.6% to 75%

  • Associate degree graduates: ↓ from 67.7% to 66.4%

Top Employing Degrees: Medicine and Technical Fields Lead

Among four-year degree programs, the highest rates of registered employment were observed in:

  • Medicine: 96.4%

  • Special Education Teaching: 95.1%

  • Electrical Teaching: 92.4%

  • Speech and Language Therapy: 91.9%

  • Electronics Teaching: 91.9%

By academic fields (based on ISCED-2013 classifications), the top five employment rates among bachelor’s graduates were:

  1. Health and Welfare: 86.7%

  2. Engineering, Manufacturing, and Construction: 82.9%

  3. ICT (Information and Communication Technologies): 78.7%

  4. Education: 77.6%

  5. Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, and Veterinary: 74.6%

For associate degree holders, standout fields included:

  • Police Training: 92.3%

  • Electric Power Generation and Distribution: 88.2%

  • Industrial Mold Making: 87.4%

  • Metallurgy: 85.2%

  • Natural Gas and Installation Technology: 84.5%

Job Search Duration: Health Fields Offer Fastest Entry

The average time to find first employment remained stable for bachelor’s graduates at 14.4 months, while for associate degree holders it slightly increased to 16 months.

Bachelor’s graduates from the following disciplines found jobs fastest:

  • Speech and Language Therapy: 2.2 months

  • Medicine: 4.1 months

  • Special Education Teaching: 4.3 months

  • Pharmacy: 5.1 months

  • Midwifery: 7.6 months

Top five fields with shortest job search times:

  1. Health and Welfare: 8.9 months

  2. Engineering, Manufacturing, and Construction: 11.6 months

  3. ICT: 11.8 months

  4. Education: 12.6 months

  5. Services: 13.7 months

For associate degrees, fastest job acquisition occurred in:

  • Police Training: 2.9 months

  • Opticianry: 9.4 months

  • Culinary Arts: 10.9 months

  • Pharmaceutical Services: 11.8 months

  • Cabin Crew Services: 11.8 months

Top-Earning Graduates: Aviation and Engineering Dominate

Among four-year graduates, Pilot Training topped the list of highest-paying majors, followed by:

  • Mathematics Engineering

  • Aerospace Engineering

  • Medicine

  • Aeronautical Engineering

For two-year graduates, the highest average monthly earnings came from:

  • Police Training

  • Aircraft Technology

  • Retail Management

  • Brand Communication

  • Electric Power Generation and Distribution

Mismatch Between Education and Jobs Remains a Challenge

In 2024, only 56.1% of bachelor’s graduates were employed in jobs aligned with their field of study—a slight increase from 55.6% in 2023. For associate degree holders, this compatibility rate dropped to 51% from 51.5% the previous year.

The best match between degree and profession among bachelor’s holders was observed in:

  • Health and Welfare: 79.9%

  • Business, Administration, and Law: 79.4%

  • Education: 63.8%

  • Engineering and Manufacturing: 63.7%

  • ICT: 56.8%

The lowest field-to-job match was in Social Sciences, Journalism, and Information at 20.1%.

For associate degree holders, top alignment was seen in:

  • Business, Administration, and Law: 64.8%

  • Engineering, Manufacturing, and Construction: 60%

  • Services: 59.1%

  • Health and Welfare: 44.5%

  • Natural Sciences, Math, and Statistics: 44%

The poorest match again appeared in Social Sciences, Journalism, and Information, with only 8% working in their studied field.

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