(MissionNewswire) Professors from Salesian vocational training centers in Spain took part in a training course on CNC SINUMERIK, a Siemens automation system for machine tools. The training, which took place from Jan. 8-11, was organized by Don Bosco Tech and Siemens and was held at the Salesian Center of Atocha in Madrid, Spain. As a result of the training, seven Salesian centers have been certified in the use of this technology, and Siemens will provide them with a CNC simulation license to be able to train their students.

The training is the result of a partnership established between Salesian centers in Spain and Siemens. Salesian missionaries are committed to fostering vocational training opportunities to ensure youth have access to the skills needed to find and retain employment. Partnerships help provide teachers with the training they need to become more informed educators while giving students access to the most up-to-date training and equipment available in the field.

Salesian centers in Spain operate close to 50 vocational training centers that employ 1,300 teachers and offer 17,000 students a chance to gain an education. In addition to these centers, the Pinardi Federation of Salesian Social Platforms and the Salesian Association of Technology and Innovation offer vocational training courses. All Salesian vocational centers have the support of companies from a variety of business sectors to give students real-world work experience.

“With so many young people out of work and facing conditions of poverty in Spain, it is vital for Salesian workforce development programs to respond to market demand,” says Father Mark Hyde, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Students in these programs have a real opportunity to enter the workforce prepared both in terms of the skills they have learned and in their social development, ensuring a lifelong ability to retain livable wage employment and escape poverty. Partnerships with these corporations help ensure that teachers are trained and Salesian students have an easier transition from the classroom to the workforce.”

Close to 37 percent of young Spanish workers under the age of 25 are unemployed and a growing number of them can’t afford to buy enough food to live. Poor youth with few employable skills struggle the most to find and retain stable employment. Women in Spain face inequality in the workforce. They earn up to 14 percent less than men and represent only 34.5 percent of those listed as the highest earners in Spain.

Salesian missionaries have been working for many years to provide educational and workforce development opportunities for poor youth and women in Spain through residential and technical and vocational training programs.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Spain – Siemens course for Teachers of Vocational Training Centers

World Bank – Spain