Don Bosco Tech Society and RHI Magnesita India to provide vocational skills

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Tech Society, one of India’s largest skills training institutions, and RHI Magnesita India, the leading supplier of high-grade refractory products, systems and solutions, recently launched the Youth Empowerment Program to provide vocational skills for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who are not otherwise engaged in education, employment or training.

The program will also focus on empowering women while breaking down traditional barriers and offering equal opportunities. The goal is to train 720 students in the six states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Delhi, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The three-month curriculum includes classroom sessions, practical work, guest lectures and industry visits.

A Salesian said, “Don Bosco Tech provides a market-based approach to skills training that is sensitive to the socioeconomic needs of marginalized youth who are 18 to 35 years old. The organization has set up a network of more than 300 skill training centers across India that attempts to bridge the widening divide between those who have access to opportunities and those who are increasingly being marginalized from the ‘new economy’ jobs.”

Access to professional training and workforce development services is highly valued in India. The country, which is home to 1.34 billion people (18% percent of the world’s population), will have overtaken China as the world’s most populous country by 2024, according to the World Economic Forum. 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 has the world’s fourth largest economy but more than 22% of the country lives in poverty. About 31% 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% 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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ANS – India – Don Bosco Tech Society and RHI Magnesita India launch Youth Empowerment Programme

Don Bosco Tech Society

Salesian Missions – India

World Bank – India