While supporting thousands of SMEs, FOSTER Project contributes to the formal employment of people by creating job opportunities. Emine Değirmencioğlu is one of these people and lives in Kayseri. After searching for a job for years in a corporate company, she made her dreams come true thanks to the FOSTER Project. Değirmencioğlu, who started working at T EN ENERJİ in Kayseri, dreams of providing employment opportunities for young people and women when she becomes a manager one day.
Değirmencioğlu is 30 years old and graduated from Erciyes University, the Department of International Relations, in 2015 and she completed the Department of Theology at the Open Education Faculty in the same period. After working as an English teacher for a year, she decided to work in a corporate company. However, she couldn’t find a job she had dreamed of. “I was looking for a job, the interviews were going well, but I couldn’t find a job because I had no experience,” Değirmencioğlu describes that period. Before finding her dream job, she gave private English lessons and attended different courses at the Public Education Center at the same time. Degirmencioğlu says “I was thinking of improving myself in other areas to be able to increase my job opportunities. While teaching, I also established my own small business and made online sales”. However, she continued to look for a job in a corporate company and to advance her career. At the end of six years, thanks to the FOSTER Project, she started working at T EN ENERJİ. Değirmencioğlu, who manages the social media accounts of the enterprise and the international business, provides support for the coordination of the units as well. She describes her emotions: “I have a job where I will gain experience in the field of my education and have new experiences that will broaden my horizons. Being in the work environment and adding new experiences to my life is truly precious. The process has been busy, peaceful, and happy since I started working.”
She explains why finding a job is also crucial for her by saying “After a 6-year process to find a job, I am happy to see myself as an individual who produces and contributes to the family budget which makes me and my family happy.” While noting that she is now employed thanks to the support provided to the company that hired her, she wishes for other employment projects for women especially recent graduates to increase.