AI, e-commerce, engineering: Fastest growing careers in Türkiye revealed

Software engineering, construction engineering, artificial intelligence development, e-commerce, information technology, speech and language therapy, and CNC operation are among the occupations expected to rise in prominence over the next ten years, according to research conducted by Türkiye’s official job agency, Iskur.

The findings are detailed in Iskur’s 2024 Türkiye Labor Market Research Report, which also identifies professions anticipated to experience the sharpest decline in employment across the country. These include shoemaking, office work, ticketing operations, canteen services, and fabric inspection.

As part of the research, interviews were conducted with 86,000 businesses across Türkiye that employ at least two people. The findings revealed that the manufacturing sector had the highest demand for labor. Among businesses with 20 or more employees, 29.7% reported having unfilled job vacancies.

Most in-demand jobs in Türkiye in 2024

The occupations with the most job vacancies identified include waitstaff, sewing machine operators, sales consultants, cleaning personnel, gas metal arc welders, cashiers, packaging workers, garment workers, and drivers for freight and passenger transport.

Waitstaff topped the list of occupations where employers reported the greatest difficulty in hiring. This was followed by sewing machine operators, welders, cleaning staff, plasterers, sales consultants, drivers, and gas metal arc welders.

The main reasons cited for recruitment difficulties include an insufficient number of job applications (71.4%), the inability to find candidates with the necessary professional skills or qualifications (69.8%), a lack of candidates with the required experience (61%), high wage expectations (30.7%), and dissatisfaction with the working environment or conditions (26.8%).

Regarding compensation, 43.8% of employers said they were prepared to offer only the minimum wage for hard-to-fill positions, while 37.2% indicated a willingness to pay up to 1.5 times the minimum wage. In total, four out of every five employers facing recruitment difficulties reported they would not offer more than 1.5 times the minimum wage for these roles.

The minimum wage, which represents the lowest monthly salary an employee can receive, has been set at ₺22,104 ($577.74) for 2025.

Among workplaces employing more than 20 people, the rate of businesses experiencing recruitment difficulties was recorded at 30.2%.