HAK-İŞ Shaped the Future of Working Life at the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Vocational Qualifications Authority

ANKARA - HAK-İŞ, a trade union confederation, attended the 4th Extraordinary General Assembly of the Vocational Qualifications Authority (VQA), which has a strategic role in working life and qualified workforce. At the meeting held on August 13, 2025, while the permanent and substitute members of the Executive Board of the FMC were elected, HAK-İŞ's active participation in the process and its support for the new management came to the fore.

New Names Named to the Executive Board

Secretary General Eda Akbulut, representing the HAK-İŞ Confederation, also attended the Extraordinary General Assembly convened to determine the management team that will guide the future work of the Executive Board. The most important agenda item of the meeting was the election of new names to the vacant full and substitute memberships of the Board of Directors. As a result of the voting, Aşkın Tören was elected as a full member of the Board of Directors of the Vocational Qualifications Authority and Uğur Kaya was elected as a substitute member. These elections are seen as an important step that will draw the road map of the institution in terms of developing the vocational qualification system and responding to the needs of the labor market.

High Level Participation from Government and Civil Society

The General Assembly not only elected new management members, but also brought together important stakeholders of working life. In addition to HAK-İŞ Secretary General Eda Akbulut, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security Faruk Özçelik, VQA Board members, representatives of various non-governmental organizations and bureaucrats also attended the meeting. This wide range of participants was an indication of the importance of vocational qualifications in the public and private sectors.

The Critical Role of HAK-IS

HAK-İŞ Secretary General Eda Akbulut's participation in the General Assembly as a member of the Divan Board reinforced the confederation's effectiveness and voice in professional qualification processes. Akbulut wished success to Aşkın Tören, the newly-elected Full Member of the Executive Board of the VQA, in his new position and wished that the new period would be beneficial for the working life and workers. Akbulut's position is seen as concrete evidence that the trade union movement is taking an active role in processes such as certifying workers' competencies and setting occupational standards.

This General Assembly signaled that the VQA will continue to work in cooperation with trade unions and public institutions, which is of great importance in terms of increasing the quality of the workforce in Turkey and harmonizing with international standards. HAK-İŞ's constructive attitude in this process has once again demonstrated that trade unions are not only institutions that focus on wage bargaining, but also stakeholders that produce solutions to the structural problems of working life and develop policies for the future.