Vocational school to train high-caliber journalists

ISTANBUL

A vocational high school that will train young journalists who will be well-equipped with skills to work for the media sector will be established in cooperation between Turkey’s Education Ministry and Demirören Media.

The signing ceremony of the project was held yesterday with the participation of Education Minister Mahmut Özer, Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya, Demirören Media Investments Board Chair Yıldırım Demirören and Vice Chair Meltem Demirören Oktay.

Speaking at the event held at the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, Demirören said the aim is to train the journalists of the future on this path embarked on with the ministry, stressing that today is significant for both the media world and the  profession.

“The school will start education in September 2022. The students will be able to receive education in their future professions while they are in high school,” Demirören noted, adding that foreign language education will be given by foreign teachers in the first year of school in order to teach students how to follow international sources and communicate with the rest of the world.

Noting that media platforms and tools have diversified even if the principles and essence of the profession of journalism remain the same, Demirören stressed again that young people should be trained to keep up with the changing times.

Praising the project, Özer emphasized that a new page has been opened in the field of communication in vocational education.

“Sector representatives will not expect graduates to come to themselves thanks to this cooperation. We enable experts in the field to attend classes in schools,” he noted, adding that academically successful students now would prefer vocational high schools.

“As part of our cooperation, we will prepare our students for the sector together at Demirören Media High School. This cooperation is a first in its field,” he noted, while thanking Demirören Media for its contribution to the project.

Yerlikaya also said that “a very good benefit” was carried out thanks to this cooperation.

“My heart warms when this kindness is signed for our future, our pupils, our bright-eyed children and young people,” Yerlikaya said.

Within the scope of the project, Demirören Media Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School will begin its academic life in a hub where the leading publishing and broadcasting platforms of Turkish media, such as Hürriyet, Hürriyet Daily News, Milliyet, Kanal D and CNN Türk, are located in Istanbul’s Bağcılar district.

This way, the journalists of the future will have the opportunity to learn the job “on the factory floor” in order to perform their profession in line with world standards.