Türkiye plans child care and flexible work to boost labor participation

Türkiye’s new economic blueprint puts child care and workplace flexibility at the center of an effort to bring more people into the labor market. The 2027-2029 Medium-Term Program, unveiled Sunday, proposes expanded institutional child care, revised working days and flexible-duration employment models.

The program identifies several barriers to employment, including skills gaps, care responsibilities, difficulties finding work and mismatches between workers and regional demand. It says people currently outside the labor market should receive support to move into registered and sustainable jobs. Career counseling, profile-based guidance and expanded skills development would direct potential workers toward active labor-market programs.

The plan also links social assistance more closely with employment measures. Reskilling, monitoring and job-matching systems would help participants move into permanent positions, especially in sectors facing labor shortages. Programs for underutilized workers would reflect local labor demand and regional needs.

Parental leave rules would be revised to promote a more balanced sharing of caregiving responsibilities. The government plans to expand nursery and institutional child care through cooperation among central government, local administrations and private companies. Employers would be encouraged to offer partly or fully remote work to employees with child care responsibilities.

The blueprint also looks beyond current workers. It calls for programs from an early age to prepare people for working life, while school curricula would emphasize the value of work and the social importance of production from the start of formal education.