Last December, the first cycle of the train-the-trainer program focused on entrepreneurship and business creation ended; it consisted of 7 courses that took place from September to December 2022 and covered topics such as entrepreneurship, small and medium-sized businesses, the Business Plan, e-commerce, marketing and sales, finance... 58 people from 13 countries, including non-Spanish-speaking countries such as Brazil, participated, and 41 of them completed at least one of the modules.
Participants rated positively the quality of the provided training, materials, and counseling. In addition, they affirmed that they learned useful information and tools that they will in turn be able to pass on in the formation for the work they carry out in each of their centers, with the young people who participate in the Salesian socio-educational proposal.
On February 8, SECOT held the closing ceremony of the first cycle of training, an event at which Father Juan Linares, Assistant Director of "Misiones Salesianas," was also present, and he addressed those present as follows: "I want to thank you for allowing us to be part of this project. Latin America needs entrepreneurs, and it was a blessing to open this door through 'Misiones Salesianas,' for which we are very grateful. I invite you to participate in this project. We must join forces and continue to show that great things can be done. I congratulate you and ask you to continue to count on us."
SECOT Secretary General Doris Bandín declared, "We made our first foray into Latin America through 'Misiones Salesianas,' an institution that sent a lot of its staff to attend our train-the-trainer courses. Eventually, then it will be their students from vocational training, youth centers, training houses and universities who will benefit."
This networking continues this year. And in the current training cycle, which SECOT conducts from February to June 2023, RASS and the Salesian VTC Network of America are involved in the following modules:
1. Capital search for entrepreneurs and start-ups
2. How to improve one's skills in employment and entrepreneurship
3. Finance for entrepreneurs
4. Digital marketing and online sales course
5. Business models and project management in the digital age
6. Small and medium-sized enterprises
7. What to keep in mind when starting a business
8. Seminar-Business Workshop.
"As RASS and the Salesian VTCs of America Network, we believe it is fundamental to give continuity to these articulated processes with third sector organizations, as this type of alliance benefits the Salesian Family, both in knowledge management and in research and publications on issues related to childhood, adolescence and youth," say the leaders of these Salesian entities.
