Don Bosco Technical Institute hosts jobs fair for close to 300 youth

(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries recently held a job fair at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Park Circus, a neighborhood in the Kolkata district of West Bengal, India. Faced with rising unemployment among educated youth, the Directorate of Industrial Training for the West Bengal government requested the Salesians hold this event. Almost 300 youth participated from 49 different schools.

With this event, Don Bosco Technical Institute became the first private institute in Bengal to host the job fair for all the technical institutes in the region. Twelve businesses were in attendance along with two recruiting agencies who source employment for more than 40 businesses. At the end of the event, 185 candidates were shortlisted for employment.

“Salesian technical training is geared toward the most-needed employment sectors to ensure that youth are able to transition from school to a job,” said Father Timothy Ploch, interim director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “By hosting job fairs like this, Salesians go a step further in helping youth to secure employment after graduation. Salesians provide career guidance and highlight how skill upgrading can pave the way to a better job opportunity.”

Don Bosco Technical Institute was established in 1965 and offers course work in mechanical engineering, electronics engineering, computer hardware, welding and fabrication, and air conditioning and refrigeration, among other courses. The aim of the institute is to instill discipline, hard work and self-reliance, as well as to prepare students to enter the industry as skilled craftspeople.

India has the world’s fourth largest economy but more than 22 percent of the country lives in poverty. About 31 percent of the world’s multidimensionally poor children live in India, according to a report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative.

India’s youth face a lack of educational opportunities due to issues of caste, class and gender. Almost 44 percent of the workforce is illiterate and less than 10 percent 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.

###

Sources:

Photo courtesy of Don Bosco South Asia

Don Bosco South Asia – Apprenticeship Mela breaths employment opportunities for youth

Don Bosco Technical Institute

Salesian Missions – India

World Bank – India