Vocational and Technical Education Status of the Industry 4.0 Process in Turkey

Abstract

It is only possible for our country to become a determining actor in global competition, to ensure sustainable development in all areas, to use all its resources efficiently and effectively, only by upbringing qualified manpower. As in developed countries, studies and policies aimed at increasing the quality of Vocational and Technical Education are of great importance for the brighter future of our country. While the innovations in information and communication technologies, which are led by technological developments, continue at full speed, it is a fact that education is the most affected sector. Following this rapid change in accordance with the conditions of the day and creating the infrastructures parallel to it must be one of the main subjects of education. Synchronizing with the needs of the modern age and cooperating with all relevant sectors is important to ensure competitiveness. It is necessary for the young population, which is the most valuable resource of our country, to receive education in Vocational and Technical Education environments equipped with technology and facilities suitable for the conditions of the age for sustainable, social and economic development. Human-centered development requires an updated education system in line with technological developments. In this direction, developing strategies that are suitable for regional conditions is inevitable for the young population to have a dynamic structure. The basis of this development in industrial applications and information technologies is the new generation of software and hardware. The current era is known as the Industry 4.0 process. This process incorporates these technologies, which have lower energy consumption, less carbon emissions, can operate with higher security and are environmentally friendly compared to their previous versions. At the same time, Industry 4.0 incorporates many components such as the internet of things, data processing, cyber physical processing, augmented reality, and data center and automation robots. In this study, the new model vocational and technical education work will be emphasized in which skills suitable for the age of technology and informatics, personal entrepreneurship and teamwork are supported, and students are equipped with features such as problem solving and system design.

Keywords: Industry 4.0, vocational education, technical education, educational technologies, next generation education.

DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/5-10-11