# Turkey

Alumni Skills Accelerator


## Accelerator Impact

Turkey’s Skills Accelerator launched an open-source software development platform and put in place two funding mechanisms that have a combined budget of $15 million, have funded 71 projects and have supported the training of approximately 790 workers.


## Accelerator Story

Turkey's Skills Accelerator was launched in June 2021 by the Ministries of Labour and Social Security, National Education, and Industry and Trade alongside seven leading Turkish businesses who served as Co-Chairs. Supported by the Istanbul National Development Agency, the accelerator took a systemic approach to unlocking collaborative action towards a skills-based recovery to ensure long-term prosperity and inclusion for the Turkish population, particularly in light of rapid digitalization and the projected impact on the labour market.Kicking off with two systems analysis workshops and one survey, Turkey’s Skills Accelerator focused on three projects centered on boosting employment, meeting software sector skills needs, and better preparing youth for their future participation in the workforce..Open-source software development platformTo support increasing digitalization of products and services, Turkey’s Skills Accelerator launched an open-source software development platform to help developers jointly create open-source software products, which in turn can be marketed within Turkey’s export markets. The platform also aimed to reduce licensing costs that tend to be borne by the public and private sectors and to increase the number of qualified software developers, entrepreneurs and companies that provide open-source software support services.Financial support mechanisms This platform was enhanced by the launch of two funding mechanisms that support education and skills training and entrepreneurial projects. The first such initiative supports youth knowledge and abilities in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship, draws on a budget of $10 million and has funded 71 projects. It is managed by NGOs in combination with national, municipal and district government institutions. The second initiative – Talent Istanbul Financial Support Program – draws on $5 million in funding and aims to train workers in accordance with the needs designated by participating software industry leaders. It operates through an impact-oriented payment service in which funds are distributed in line with performance against predefined key performance indicators. As a result of these new funding mechanisms, 793 people have received software training.