Turkey supports call centers in Anatolia

YOZGAT - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkish Transportation and Communication Minister Binali Yıldırm is seen sitting at a cubicle in a call center in central Anatolian province of Yozgat. Company photo

The Turkish government will grant incentives to the private sector to open more call centers in rural Anatolian cities in order to curb unemployment, the Turkish Transportation and Communication Minister announced in a March 10 meeting in the central Anatolian province of Yozgat.

“These call centers have started to become very important for the Turkish economy,” said Minister Binali Yıldırım, speaking at the opening ceremony of Avea Callpex Call Center in Yozgat. 

“Our aim is to slow down the unemployment among young people” he said, adding that the call center would employ 200 people at first, and would increase the number of employees to 1000 within a few years. 

Noting that there have been a number of call centers opened in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Bingöl and Bitlis in recent years, Yıldırım said the government would “continue to support this trend with incentives for the private sector.” He said the young employees of the call centers would also benefit from tax reductions.

The Speaker of Parliament Cemil Çiçek revealed that there were plans to build a new airport for Yozgat, adding that the city, neighboring the Turkish capital Ankara, would soon be an important spot for country’s economy.

Ali Sabancı, board member of Callpex said: “In developed countries there is 1 customer representative to serve approximately 100 people. However, in Turkey there is only 1 customer representative serving 2,000 customers.” 

Sabancı expressed his opinion that Turkey should support more investment in the sector to create jobs for the young population of the country.