At a breakfast meeting held at 10.00 on 18 July 2026 at the İkinci Bahar Restaurant in Çorum, comprehensive assessments were made regarding the current state and future of the milling sector.
Efforts to train the skilled workforce required by the sector featured prominently on the meeting’s agenda. Discussions were held regarding the pilot implementation in Konya, Gaziantep and Çorum of the DİMEP model—supported by the Ministry of National Education and based on a training programme comprising four days in the workplace and one day at school each week.
Despite Turkey’s position as a global leader in the milling sector, the absence of a four-year undergraduate degree programme in this field was also among the topics raised. With the aim of strengthening the academic infrastructure of the milling sector, options for establishing a ‘Milling Science and Technologies’ department within Middle East Technical University (METU), Hacettepe University or Ankara University, under the leadership of the Higher Education Council, were evaluated.
The meeting also addressed funding opportunities aimed at enhancing the global competitiveness of Turkish milling machinery manufacturers. In this context, the creation of low-cost, long-term foreign currency loan facilities through Eximbank was considered. The issue of Turkish Airlines offering special, preferential fares to facilitate exporters’ access to global markets was also discussed.
The meeting also reviewed the project to establish the world’s largest applied milling and grain processing training centre in Ankara. Attention was focused on the support that the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Ministry of National Education could provide to bring the project to fruition.
The meeting, which addressed the sector’s priorities in the areas of human resources, academic education, financing, exports and logistics, provided an important forum for consultation regarding future initiatives and shared objectives.
