Gazi University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. The last apprentice graduation exam was held at the Beekeeping School, which was founded by Emin Kuru in Çırnık village of Gerze district of Sinop and is a first in Türkiye.

Prof., who has been carrying out vocational training activities for rural development for many years. Dr. Kuru announced that he was considering withdrawing from rural beekeeping training following the age limit regulation made in the Vocational Education Law No. 3308.

Making a statement after the graduation exam held in the bee workshop with the participation of Gerze Vocational Education Center (MESEM) officials, Prof. Dr. Emin Kuru said that they have trained eight master instructors so far, and an important period has ended with the last apprentice completing his graduation.

Stating that he founded the Beekeeping School in Çırnık village in order to transfer his approximately 40 years of academic experience to rural development, Kuru stated that they pioneered the implementation of the Vocational Education Law No. 3308 in rural areas by signing a protocol with the Ministry of National Education for three years.

Stating that the apprentices trained within the scope of the law receive state-supported apprentice and journeyman salaries for four years, Kuru noted that the trainees who successfully complete their training can register to the Chamber of Tradesmen and Craftsmen with internationally valid NACE coded professional qualification documents and have the opportunity to establish their own businesses by taking advantage of low-interest tradesman loans.

Emphasizing that this system is an important hope especially for young people living in rural areas, Kuru argued that the application gives very successful results in small-scale production areas, especially beekeeping.

However, Kuru claimed that with the recent legislative change, apprenticeship support was limited to people under the age of 22, and that this decision prevented unemployed university graduates and young retirees from benefiting from vocational training.

Arguing that the regulation in question negatively affects rural development, Kuru said, "Young people who are university graduates and cannot find a job, or citizens who want to return to production after retirement cannot benefit from this support. However, these people can contribute to both production and the country's economy by establishing their own businesses in beekeeping, greenhouse farming, animal husbandry and similar fields."

Expressing that vocational education is of great importance not only for employment but also for the continuity of life in rural areas, Kuru argued that the Vocational Education Law No. 3308 should be strengthened again.

Calling for the removal of the age limit for apprenticeship training, Kuru stated that accepting the beginning of apprenticeship as the beginning of insurance would encourage young people to turn to vocational education.

Expressing that rural development will be possible by supporting small producers, tradesmen, farmers and professional individuals, Kuru asked for the current practice to be re-evaluated and called for the implementation of regulations that will encourage production and vocational training. - SINOP