Printing Industry Education Foundation (BASEV) Trustee, Matsaş Printing and Amb. Singing. Trade Inc. Chairman of the Board of Directors Umut Özgür ÖĞÜT answered our questions about BASEV and vocational training.

Could you give some brief information about yourself and your company?

I graduated from Yıldız Technical University Electrical Engineering and completed my MBA in Business Management at Yıldız Technical University. I work in the printing and packaging industry because I could not be happy in another industry due to the printing tradition from my family. I have investments in digital printing, offset printing and cardboard packaging. 30% of our production is on the export side, the rest is in the domestic market. We don't do retail, only corporate. We have been operating as Matsaş since 2011. The first is a story dating back to 1968.

Do you have any suggestions for the internships of young people who receive vocational training to be more efficient and effective? What else do you think can be done?

The printing and packaging industry needs to be made attractive for young people and their families, I think we need to show that the old conventional, dirty production facilities are now being replaced by digitalized clean production facilities and we need to arouse more interest. The fact that the wages of our sector are determined with a minimum table through BASEV and announced every year may also increase the demand. In short, we need to engage in activities to make the sector attractive.

How would you evaluate BASEV's contribution to the sector? Do you have any suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of the foundation?

I followed BASEV's working groups closely, there are issues that we can be more active on. That's why I joined this structure. Particular attention can be drawn to production management, qualified personnel training and certified production personnel. Books and tutorials are great. However, it will be beneficial for our industry to focus on dynamic processes for practical applications that we all need.

What do you think should be done to expand BASEV scholarships and English courses and make them more effective?

Just as we have a one-year fee for our FSC certificate, or for our ISO quality system; In BASEV, it may be considered to make the members more supportive on the basis of turnover or paid tax base. Of course, this may seem like a necessity in a system that is voluntary, but I have taken different positions in various associations and organizations throughout my life, I have been a donor and worked. These studies are the ones that feed our spiritual peace, believing this will make the job easier.

What qualifications do you need as a member of the sector? In this context, how should sectoral education be and in what direction should it be developed?

First of all, I can say that our biggest shortcoming is our work ethic. Now, if our staff doesn't want to come to work easily the next day, they don't come, they extend their return from leave or make it difficult for the production flow for other reasons. I think that an employee contract can be prepared specifically for our sector, with both the labor law and the BASEV additional protocol. Online ready-made videos should be created for sectoral trainings, these trainings should be combined in a portal, our staff should be able to get promoted as they complete these trainings, and we should establish a structure where we can provide benefits when they pass their exams. Finally, I believe that there should be a sectoral and experience-oriented variable in the minimum wage. In my restaurant business, which is my other investment, the minimum wage of an employee who is 18 years old and has no experience should not be defined as the same for a 35-year-old employee who supports a family in the printing sector. At this point, I think that our state and our foundation can do something.

BASEV - PRINTING WORLD MAGAZINE / July-August-September 2022 Issue