(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Polytechnic College in Mekelle, Ethiopia, is launching a new TechPro2 program for skills training in collaboration with CNH Industrial and its commercial vehicles brand IVECO. CNH Industrial has partnered with the Opera Don Bosco Onlus Foundation, based in Milan, Italy, to launch this new initiative. IVECO will provide the Don Bosco Polytechnic College and its professors with the practical equipment, tools and training to offer a certified course that will qualify young trainees for a future career in the automotive sector, according to a recent article in Nasdaq.

“We are thrilled that CNH Industrial and its IVECO brand have taken this important project to heart. The TVET (Don Bosco Polytechnic College) in Mekelle is a strategic training center for us and we can confirm that with IVECO, and the efforts of many other stakeholders, we have given life to a great project that I am sure will be of great value for many young students who require adequate training to build a future for themselves, their families and for the country,” said Father Giuliano Giacomazzi, supervisor of the Salesians of Lombardy, in the Nasdaq article.

CNH Industrial has a focus on sustainability and supports local communities around the world with training initiatives. One of its main programs is the TechPro2 technical youth training program which was first launched globally within CNH Industrial in 2011. TechPro2 fosters the professional and social development of youth by providing them with advanced technical training that gives them the skills and tools they need for a successful future.

The new course at Don Bosco Polytechnic College lasts for a year and upon successful completion, graduates will receive a specialized certification in vehicle maintenance. CNH Industrial and IVECO will also provide qualifying students with internship opportunities within the IVECO dealer network in Ethiopia where they will gain valuable on-the-job experience and the opportunity to seek direct employment.

“For us at CNH Industrial, every edition of TechPro2 represents an important experience, one that goes beyond financial contribution and the transfer of know-how. They allow us the unique opportunity to see students grow both professionally and into mature young adults. The enthusiasm transmitted by the students is of inestimable value and we are truly honored to contribute to this,” said Daniela Ropolo, head of sustainable development initiatives for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, in the Nasdaq article.

This is the third TechPro2 site in Ethiopia for CNH Industrial and the latest of many training courses that the Don Bosco Foundation has brought to Ethiopia. The two previously-established TechPro2 programs, dedicated to agricultural equipment and commercial vehicles, are based in Addis Ababa at the Bosco Children Project.

The TechPro2 project is also currently operating in 57 Salesian training centers around the globe with more than 9,300 students accessing more than 240,000 hours of training in eight different languages. TechPro2 aims to help train youth to enter the workforce while meeting the employment needs of the industry.

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world with more than 38 percent of its population living in poverty, according to Feed the Future. Close to 85 percent of the country’s workforce is employed in agriculture but frequent droughts severely affect the agricultural economy leaving more than 12 million people chronically, or at least periodically, food insecure. In addition, more than two-thirds of the population is illiterate.

The country has 4 million orphans which account for nearly 12 percent of all children and according to UNICEF, more than half a million of these were orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS crisis that has affected the country. Thousands more children run away each year seeking a better life on the streets.

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Sources:

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

ANS – Ethiopia – New vocational training opportunities for young Ethiopians

Nasdaq – CNH Industrial inaugurates new TechPro2 youth training program in Ethiopia

UNICEF – Ethiopia