IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0341254.html

Is Türkiye’s on-the-job training program sustainable? A qualitative evaluation from the firms’ perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Mustafa Koçancı
  • Mete Kaan Namal
  • Beyhan Aksoy
  • Ufuk Bingöl
  • Zihni Onur Eren

Abstract

Active labor market policies play a vital role in achieving sustainable development goals. This study examines the effectiveness of the on-the-job training (OJT) program, a key active employment policy implemented by the Turkish Employment Agency (TEA), within the context of Antalya province, Türkiye. The research aims to explore employers’ perceptions of the program, its effectiveness, and its contribution to sustainable development. Data were collected through semi structured interviews with managers responsible for OJT in various firms and analyzed thematically using computer assisted tools. The findings show that although the program contributes to the increase of human capital by creating employment and developing skills, it falls short of its goals due to labor segmentation issues, operational inefficiencies, and its inability to close implementation gaps, revealing that the program faces a number of structural challenges. The study concludes that although OJT holds significant potential for promoting sustainable employment, further improvements are necessary to enhance its impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Mustafa Koçancı & Mete Kaan Namal & Beyhan Aksoy & Ufuk Bingöl & Zihni Onur Eren, 2026. "Is Türkiye’s on-the-job training program sustainable? A qualitative evaluation from the firms’ perspective," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 21(2), pages 1-25, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0341254
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0341254
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0341254
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0341254&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0341254?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marco Caliendo & Jens Hogenacker, 2012. "The German labor market after the Great Recession: successful reforms and future challenges," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-24, December.
    2. Bruno Crépon & Gerard J. van den Berg, 2016. "Active Labor Market Policies," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 8(1), pages 521-546, October.
    3. Stefan Tübbicke, 2023. "How sensitive are matching estimates of active labor market policy effects to typically unobserved confounders?," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-16, December.
    4. Pignatti Clemente & Van Belle Eva, 2021. "Better together: Active and passive labor market policies in developed and developing economies," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, January.
    5. Robinson, Peter, 2000. "Active Labour-Market Policies: A Case of Evidence-Based Policy-Making?," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 16(1), pages 13-26, Spring.
    6. Indermit Gill & Johannes Koettl & Truman Packard, 2013. "Full employment: a distant dream for Europe," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-34, December.
    7. repec:iab:iabjlr:v:57:p:art.26 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Omar Al-Ubaydli & John A. List, 2019. "How natural field experiments have enhanced our understanding of unemployment," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 33-39, January.
    2. Philippe Askenazy & Clément Brébion & Pierre Courtioux & Christine Erhel & Malo Mofakhami, 2023. "HRM Strategies in Response to the First Covid Lockdown: a Typology of French Workplaces," Working Papers hal-03953817, HAL.
    3. Povilas Lastauskas & Julius Stakėnas, 2020. "Labour market institutions in open economy: Sectoral reallocations, aggregate adjustments, and spillovers," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 814-845, August.
    4. André Dumas Tsambou & Lionie Mafang & Thierno Malick Diallo & Benjamin Fomba Kamga, 2024. "Impact of job training program on employment outcomes in Senegal," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(8), pages 1-33, August.
    5. José María ARRANZ & Carlos GARCÍA SERRANO & Virginia HERNANZ, 2013. "Active labour market policies in Spain: A macroeconomic evaluation," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 152(2), pages 327-348, June.
    6. Gürtzgen, Nicole & (né Nolte), André Diegmann & Pohlan, Laura & van den Berg, Gerard J., 2021. "Do digital information technologies help unemployed job seekers find a job? Evidence from the broadband internet expansion in Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    7. Jordy Meekes & Wolter H. J. Hassink, 2023. "Endogenous local labour markets, regional aggregation and agglomeration economies," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(1), pages 13-25, January.
    8. Caliendo, Marco & Künn, Steffen & Weißenberger, Martin, 2016. "Personality traits and the evaluation of start-up subsidies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 87-108.
    9. Caliendo, Marco & Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Obst, Cosima & Uhlendorff, Arne, 2023. "Risk preferences and training investments," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 668-686.
    10. Silke Anger & Bernhard Christoph & Agata Galkiewicz & Shushanik Margaryan & Malte Sandner & Thomas Siedler, 2025. "Online Tutoring, School Performance, and School-to-Work Transitions: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial," Berlin School of Economics Discussion Papers 0084, Berlin School of Economics.
    11. Eichhorst, Werner & Tobsch, Verena, 2015. "Not so standard anymore? : employment duality in Germany (Vom Normalarbeitsverhältnis zu atypischen Verträgen? : die Dualisierung des deutschen Arbeitsmarktes)," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 48(2), pages 81-95.
    12. Eichhorst, Werner & Weishaupt, J. Timo, 2013. "Mit Neo-Korporatismus durch die Krise? Die Rolle des Sozialen Dialogs in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz," IZA Discussion Papers 7498, IZA Network @ LISER.
    13. Anna Aizer & Shari Eli & Adriana Lleras-Muney & Keyoung Lee, 2020. "Do Youth Employment Programs Work? Evidence from the New Deal," NBER Working Papers 27103, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Brynde Kreft, 2025. "Information, skills and job search," CSAE Working Paper Series 2025-09, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    15. Werner Eichhorst & Verena Tobsch, 2013. "Has Atypical Work Become Typical in Germany?: Country Case Studies on Labour Market Segmentation," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 596, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    16. Jonathan M.V. Davis & Sara B. Heller, 2020. "Rethinking the Benefits of Youth Employment Programs: The Heterogeneous Effects of Summer Jobs," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 102(4), pages 664-677, October.
    17. van den Berg, Gerard J. & Kesternich, Iris & Müller, Gerrit & Siflinger, Bettina M., 2024. "Reciprocity and the interaction between the unemployed and the caseworker," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    18. Juan F. Jimeno, 2017. "Unemployment and the role of supranational policies," World of Labour, LISER, pages 390-390, October.
    19. Victoria Osuna & J. García-Pérez, 2015. "On the Effectiveness of Short-time Work Schemes in Dual Labor Markets," De Economist, Springer, vol. 163(3), pages 323-351, September.
    20. Lastauskas, Povilas & Stakėnas, Julius, 2024. "Labor market policies in high- and low-interest rate environments: Evidence from the euro area," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0341254. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.