Vocational Qualifications Authority of Turkey (MYK) is a public body established by the Vocational Qualifications Authority Act No. 5544 of 2006, to determine the principles of national qualifications in technical and vocational fields, based on professional standards, and to carry out activities related to auditing, measurement and evaluation and certification in Turkey.
The Institution, which is the relevant organization of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, is a public administration with a public legal entity, administratively and financially autonomous, and with a special budget, established to be subject to the provisions of private law, except for the matters specified in the Act No. 5544.
The members of the MYK Board of Directors were elected at the first General Assembly of MYK held on December 8, 2006, and MYK started its legal operations as of December 26, 2006, when the Board elected the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors from among its members.
The main task of the institution is to establish and operate “the Turkish national vocational qualification system” compatible with the European Union (EU) standards.
Sector Committees of the institution are committees that examine, make suggestions and decide so that the occupational standards prepared by institutions and organizations appointed by the Institution can be accepted as national occupational standards.
Sector Committees consist of the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Turkey, MoLSS, Turkish Higher Education Board (YÖK), other ministries related to the profession, workers, employers and professional organizations represented in the General Assembly, and one representative of the Institution. Which sector committees will be established and which professions will be discussed in these committees are determined by the Board of Directors in accordance with national and international norms.
National Vocational Qualification System of Turkey is a system in which national occupational standards are established, vocational and technical education and training programs are prepared according to these standards, the professional competence of the workforce is documented as a result of theoretical and practical exams held in measurement and evaluation centers by organizations accredited and authorized by MYK, and the documents received are at national and international levels. It is a fair, transparent and reliable system where comparability is aimed, lifelong learning is supported, people who learn the profession without formal education are given the opportunity to certify their knowledge and skills, business representatives actively participate in all decisions regarding the process, and quality assurance is targeted.
In the system in Turkey, coordination is provided by the MYK, and MYK undertakes monitoring, evaluation, assignment and authorization duties in the system. Since the institution’s field of activity concerns the education and employment segments together, an approach based on the contributions of the relevant social partners has been adopted in all decision-making processes.
National occupational standards and national qualifications, which are components of the National Vocational Qualifications System, is prepared by public institutions/organizations, workers, employers, professional organizations and non-governmental organizations that have competence and representation power regarding sectors and professions and are authorized by the MYK, based on the needs and future trends of the business world and the contributions of the education world and other social partners.
The preparation of national occupational standards constitutes the basic input for the preparation of national qualifications that will provide measurement and evaluation in the examination and certification process. The examination and certification process is also carried out under the supervision and control of MYK. Certification bodies that are accredited within the system created in accordance with the TS EN ISO/IEC 17024 (Conformity Assessment – General Conditions for Organizations Conducting Personnel Certification) standard, which are among the accreditation institutions that have signed a multilateral recognition agreement with Turkish Accreditation Inc. (TÜRKAK) or the European Accreditation Union, for the qualifications to be certified, are authorized by the MYK and the performance of these organizations is carried out by these organizations. MYK vocational qualification certificates are provided to those who are successful in the exams.
