Analysis: How can Turkey strike the right balance in youth unemployment and immigration?

As of September 2018, youth unemployment in Turkey stands at 19.4%, a very high ratio by any standard. Youth unemployment is a very serious issue with broad consequences, ranging from the loss of young talents to a skills crisis, from social security issues to social harmony matters. The Turkish age bracket of 15 to 24 seems to be the hardest hit by this problem, which then needs to rely on their families for their livelihood. It is clear that serious long-term reforms need to be undertaken in order to improve the job market in terms of sector orientation, industrialisation, and technological focus in the education process. However, since youth unemployment is a relatively urgent matter, there are some immediate measures within the scope of existing Turkish legislation that Turkey can employ in order to help its youth. The most available measure concerns Labour market regulations. Clearly, every country's priority and obligation are to first promote the interests of its own citizens, particularly in the job market. Having a well-regulated job market is not only necessary for maintaining the locals' quality of life, but it is also important for maintaining safety and security measures required by the International Labour Organization. In this sense, our country needs to regulate the Turkish job market and apply existing laws more stringently. In other words, we cannot have an open-door policy for all illegal immigrants entering our borders without any controls thus creating a context of brutal wage dumping. This is not a healthy situation, especially when thinking about the future of younger generations.