DB BEST Academy offers free training and job placement for youth who are disadvantaged

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco BREADS (Bangalore Rural Education and Development Society) Employment and Skill Training (DB BEST) Academy in Lingarajapuram, Bangalore, India, recently celebrated 1,616 successfully trained youth.

The DB BEST Academy, an initiative of BREADS since 2016, offers free three-month skills training and job placements for youth who have dropped out of school, youth who are economically disadvantaged, and migrant youth from rural areas. The academy focuses on hospitality management, retail management and business process outsourcing.

Trainees engage in hands-on, industry-focused training in a supportive and nurturing environment. Youth also take life skills and communication training, along with basic computer training and learning accounting software. Students are also able to participate in extracurricular activities and receive a free, nutritious lunch each day of the course.

At the graduation, the Honorable Shri KJ George, minister for energy and a member of the legislative assembly representing Sarvagnanagar, stressed the need for skills training in India. He said in his address, “Every person cannot be employed in white-collar jobs. We need all kinds of skills. In this context, institutions like Don Bosco, who work tirelessly to uplift young people without the advantages of the rich, perform excellent service.”

Job Francis, a successful trainee, shared his experience at the DB BEST Academy. He said, “For a broke man whose life had come to a full stop at age 26, the fact that the course is free and has placement assistance was significant. The three-month course pushed me to try new things, face new people, and break my ego, finally resulting in me growing myself. Currently, I am the manager of a restobar and when I look back, I would call DB BEST my home, and those people, my family.”

A recent impact assessment report about the academy found that trained students had a 92.4% satisfaction rate and a unanimous appreciation of the positive impact of DB BEST Academy in their personal and professional lives. Trainees are employed by well-known brands and organizations, which confirms the academy’s training standards. Fostering a consistent employment rate of 79.2%, DB BEST Academy contributes positively toward the socio-economic upliftment of marginalized youth in society through personal development and financial independence.

Access to professional training and workforce development services is highly valued in India. While India has the world’s largest youth population, it has yet to capitalize on this, leaving some 30% of this population without employment, education or training.

India’s youth face a lack of educational opportunities due to issues of caste, class and gender. Almost 44% of the workforce is illiterate and less than 10% of the working-age population has completed a secondary education. In addition, many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Don Bosco South Asia

ANS – India – Skilling the Unskilled in the ‘DB BEST’ Way

BREADS Bangalore

Salesian Missions – India

World Bank – India