The textile and ready-to-wear sectors, which leads upsurge in Turkey's foreign trade, are amongst the leading sectors in the economic development of our country and in increasing the international competitiveness with its production capacity. The urgent desire for Textile Engineers, meeting the needs of the sector in all production stages of the textile and ready-made clothing, is rising gradually. Textile Engineers, who can adapt to the rapidly changing and constantly developing dynamics of the sector with a technology and innovation-oriented approach, have the opportunity to work in different fields.
The Sector Will Seek for Technical Knowledge of Textile Engineers More and More Every Passing Day
Nejdet Ayaydın, Board Member and İpekyol Ayaydın Miroglio Group Board Member, one of the leading companies in the sector, playing a critical role in local and global markets, shared the following: “Fast-changing fashion trends, continuous development of production and sales technologies, it also requires the integration of new infrastructures into processes. Textile engineers; with its basic engineering knowledge, analytical perspective, textile technical and design knowledge, innovative and visionary perspective, play an important role in the fashion retail industry. The demand for textile engineering will continue to increase as Turkish brands are becoming more active in the local and global markets by expanding their operations every year. The vision of the textile industry to train its own professionals has made this industry discipline more and more search for.”
Textile Engineering Will Become Even More Important in the Future for a Sustainable Fashion Industry
Ayaydın also said, “Within Ayaydın Miroglio Group; Textile engineers take an active role in category planning, planning and a-location, fabric development and purchasing, product development, production planning, apparel production, product purchasing, quality assurance functions. Textile engineering will play an even more important role in the future for the sustainable fashion industry, which is one of the most important rising industries in today's world. The industry will increasingly look for the technical knowledge of textile engineers within the framework of the concept of sustainability.”
Necat Altın, Board Member of Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Association (İTHİB) and Chairman of Zorlu Holding Textile Group: “As a textile engineer, I would like to underline our demand for qualified engineers for innovative and sustainable production in the textile industry that shapes Turkey's future. Our textile engineers, who can implement their ideas with innovative solutions in line with the needs and expectations of the industry, will play a leading role in reaching the export targets of our textile industry. As known, the most valuable investment is human capital. The aim of Turkey, as the world's 5th largest textile exporter, to be ranked amongst the top tree and the vision to build on the perception of Turkish brand can only be achieved with the expertise of with qualified textile engineers. We cannot talk about a country with the said production power as a whole in textiles. The critical point here is the differentiation with R&D capability and innovative power and the employment of qualified human capital. And this can only be achieved by qualified textile engineers.’’
“Our need for highly qualified textile engineers is inevitable”
While addressing students who make their selection on Textile Engineering, Kipaş Tekstil General Manager and Kipaş Holding Board Member Halit Gümüşer said: “For a sustainable and cyclical future that adds value to our industry, we integrate more of our qualified workforce in the field of Textile Engineering into economic activities. I advise students who seek for Textile Engineering to be curious about innovation and technological developments, and to have an open approach to change and developments in the industry with the commitment to learning. In addition to traditional textiles, the textile sector; it is in a transformation process that increases its functionality in many fields such as medical, automotive, construction, chemistry. In order to achieve our set targets in technical textiles, in which we position ourselves as the future of the sector, our need for visionary, worldly-sought and highly qualified textile engineers is inevitable.”
Jale Tunçel, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Istanbul Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters' Association (İHKİB), who is a graduate of Textile Engineering and has been in the sector professionally for 32 years, stated that engineering education provides students with skills in every field. Tunçel, “I have worked as a manager in the supply, sales and financing units in the sector, which has a dynamic structure. With the experience I have gained in all these units, I continue to work in senior management levels that require a holistic approach. Textile Engineering is an academic discipline that works on subjects such as fiber, yarn, weaving, knitting, non-woven surfaces, ready-made clothing production and textile finishing. In addition to its conventional production, it also creates innovation and added value in industries that contribute to the country's economy and development, such as health, architecture, construction, ready-made clothing, defense industry, automotive and agriculture.’’
Supporting Education and Employment Opportunities in Textile Engineering
The need for technical knowledge of Textile Engineers continues in parallel with the continuity of the sector. In order for the students to gain the necessary training for their development, students who choose Textile Engineering in the university exam are provided with a minimum financial support to fund their education, to place an internship and to sit on appropriate positions after completing their studies within the coverage of "My Choice is Textile Engineering" project.
Under the leadership of Textile and Apparel Exporters' Associations, the "My Choice is Textile Engineering" project, which was initiated in 2019 in cooperation with the Ready-made Clothing and Apparel Exporters' Associations, Textile and Raw Materials Exporters' Associations and the Turkish Textile Industry Employers' Association (TTSIS), continues to support students in its third year. According to the results of the university exam, students who ranked amongst the first 20 thousand are to be awarded for scholarships while taking into account the net minimum wage that is 70 percent of the minimum wage for students ranked between 20-50 thousand and 50 percent of the minimum wage for students ranked between 50-80 thousand.
