by Fr Silvio Roggia, SDB
What is the peculiarity of this initiative compared to the many commitments of Don Bosco Tech India?
It is precisely within Don Bosco Tech India that Don Bosco Skill Mission was born. The aim is to facilitate the first employment of young people who have already completed the first level of technical training. The course is residential, lasts two months, and is offered free of charge.
100% guarantee of a first job and free training: it seems too good to be true...
It comes from an agreement developed with several companies that offer employment to young people who are already specifically prepared according to the requisites needed. The companies sponsor the two-month training that Don Bosco Skill Mission organizes, on condition that the young person continues to work for the company for the next 10 months. It is at the end of the 12 months that the company refunds the expenses advanced by the Salesians. In this way, those who start the course are sure to find employment after two months, receiving a good salary compared to the labor market in southern India.
We also have a guidance service that for three years follows the young people already in the labor market and, in most cases, companies also facilitate room and board for the new employees.
Is the training you offer purely technical?
No. The formation is intensive formation and takes up the entire day of the 120 young people we manage to have every two months. The instructors are specialized in mechanical skills, but are also prepared for their role as educators through a month of pedagogical and Salesian formation. The educational environment itself is well thought out, and we teach respect for ethnic and religious differences, as well as the English language and formation towards improving one's character.
Educating by evangelizing and evangelizing by educating: is this also true of the Don Bosco Skill Mission?
On any one day, the religious aspect is never missing, and respecting the diversity of belonging of the young - Catholics are, on average, a small minority. Nobody feels the words of the "Our Father" as foreign to their faith, why we pray together every day.
