In the second additional placement recognized by YÖK, the threshold scores will be applied as 140 for TYT and 170 for AYT / YTD. Experts shared details about the Food Technology and Laboratory Technology programs, which offer bright future prospects and employment opportunities in many fields, for candidates who will choose associate and undergraduate degrees in the second additional placement.
Employment opportunities are abundant in the future
It was announced that candidates with a minimum TYT score of 140 and a minimum AYT / YTD score of 170 can benefit from the second additional placement opportunity recognized by YÖK. Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Ebru Özkan Oktay, Head of Laboratory Technology Program at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Vocational School of Health Services, and Dr. Öğretim Üyesi Salih Tuncay, Head of Food Technology Program, shared information about departments offering employment opportunities in the future.
Employment opportunities are quite abundant
Stating that students graduating from the Laboratory Technology Program can work as technicians in the laboratories of various public institutions and organizations in the private sector, Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Ebru Özkan Oktay said, “They will be able to find employment opportunities in relevant units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, agricultural research institutes, food control laboratories, wastewater treatment plants, State Hydraulic Works, central research institutes for agricultural pest control, laboratories of food and feed factories, laboratories of relevant university departments, and agricultural laboratories. They can also establish their own businesses after obtaining the necessary permits and conditions.”
Continuation to 4-year programs with DGS
Stating that students who complete the Laboratory Technology Program can transition to 4-year programs by taking the Vertical Transfer Exam (DGS) conducted by ÖSYM, Oktay said, “Many promising departments such as Genetic and Bioengineering, Food Engineering, Food Technologies, Nursing, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Organic Farming Management can be transferred to. In addition, open education undergraduate programs such as Tourism Management, Public Relations and Publicity, Business Administration, International Relations, and Public Administration can also be preferred.”
Students are enabled to get to know the industry through practical courses
Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Ebru Özkan Oktay spoke about the practical training in the Laboratory Technology Program as follows:
“In our Laboratory Techniques, Food Analysis, Plant and Soil Analysis, and General Microbiology courses included in our curriculum, practical training is provided in addition to theory. In our existing laboratories, various applications are taught to students by expert academics in their fields. With the field application course, our students also find the opportunity to apply in the industry. In this way, the aim is for them to get to know the industry they will work or operate in the future, and to start their careers as graduates suitable for the employee profile the industry will need.”
Focuses on food and beverage production
Stating that the Food Technology program is an academic discipline focused on food and beverage production, Dr. Öğretim Üyesi Salih Tuncay said, “The profession of Food Technician, which inherently embodies the strength of different disciplines, trains assistant technical staff for small, medium, and large-scale food production businesses by imparting innovative approaches to individuals. A food technician is an auxiliary vocational professional who performs physical, chemical, and microbiological analyses during the production, packaging, and storage of foodstuffs in accordance with health conditions, and possesses theoretical and practical knowledge about food safety and food legislation.”
Food technicians are being trained
Tuncay stated that the Food Technology program aims to train human resources who can work in the food industry in production and quality control fields with the title of “Food Technician,” and added, “Within the scope of the ‘Vocational training in enterprises’ course included in our curriculum, students go for field practice, gain professional experience, and can communicate with professional organizations.”
Here are the employment opportunities for Food Technicians…
Emphasizing that food technicians should pay attention to business ethics rules and important issues such as hygiene, Tuncay said, “Those trained in this field deal with many tasks in their professional lives, from product analyses to production-related organizations. Food technicians spend most of their professional lives in laboratories. They have career opportunities such as dietetics, food engineering, and agricultural genetic engineering.”
Dr. Öğretim Üyesi Salih Tuncay listed the employment opportunities for food technicians as follows:
Public institutions and organizations related to the food industry
• Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry control laboratories,
• Public Health Directorate (Hygiene Institute)
• Municipalities,
• Catering companies,
• Provincial Health Directorates,
• Food laboratories, quality control units of food producing factories,
• Private food laboratories as intermediate technical staff, and,
• Their own private food businesses.