Access to professional training and workforce development services is important for Indian youth, given the current state of India’s economy. According to the International Labor Organization’s Global Employment Trends 2014 Report, the unemployment rate in India has been gradually increasing since 2011 when the rate was at 3.5 percent. The rate rose to 3.6 percent in 2012 and again climbed in 2013 to 3.7 percent. The unemployment rate is expected to continue to grow in 2014, according the report.

For poor youth who lack access to education and employable skills training, risk of exploitation in the labor market increases as does their chance of continuing to live in conditions of poverty. In 2012, Salesian missionaries started the Don Bosco College Hospitality Studies (formerly called Don Bosco Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology) which offers degree courses in collaboration with Mumbai University and the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University.

The hospitality studies program includes coursework in food production, food safety and nutrition, beverage service, front office, housekeeping, communication skills and information technology. For those students more focused on the business end of the hospitality industry, coursework in accounting and management is also available through the program.

“Salesian missionaries know how important it is to provide poor and disadvantaged youth in India access to education and employment training both for the individual student’s professional development and to develop a stronger skilled workforce for India’s economy,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Students graduating from the hospitality studies program are prepared to enter a growing employment sector and many are successful in finding stable long-term work directly after graduation.”

Graduates from the program are currently employed at international corporations such as Four Seasons, Grand Hyatt, Jet Airways and JW Marriott, among others. The success of the program is due to the intense learning environment in the classroom and the extensive hands-on experience students receive while still in the program. Students put their skills and talents to work organizing catered lunches and hosting events.

Don Bosco College also works to give back to the local community through cooking programs for self-help groups for women from the slums of Mumbai. The training provided encourages economic independence and initiates entrepreneurship.

With more than 1.2 billion people, India has the world’s fourth largest economy and according to UNICEF, is home to one-third of the world’s poor. Close to 217 million of India’s poor are children. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010, most remain vulnerable to falling back below the poverty line.

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, too many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

The hospitality program in Mumbai is just one of many such Salesian-run programs around the globe. With more than 70 colleges and nearly 700 job training programs worldwide, the Salesians are widely considered the world’s largest private provider of vocational and technical training.

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Sources:

Don Bosco College Hospitality Studies

International Labour Organization – Global Employment Trends 2014: The risk of a jobless recovery

UNICEF – India

The post INDIA: Don Bosco College Hospitality Graduates Employed by Leading International Hospitality Companies first appeared on MissionNewswire.

DB Tech Himayat is part of a broader network of Don Bosco technology training centers in India that aim to bridge the widening gap between those who have access to employment opportunities and those who do not. The center targets youth ages 18 to 35 who have struggled with conditions of poverty and lack access to ongoing job skills education.

“All youth deserve a chance at a better life and access to the skills necessary to find and retain employment,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “To help close the employment gap, DB Tech helps youth gain a foothold in the competitive job market by providing employment and soft skills training in an environment of learning and mentoring that is responsive to the individual’s emotional and developmental needs.”

Since opening in 2011 under the Indian government’s Himayat project, DB Tech has been tasked with providing training for more than 16,500 youth. Students are able to select the program that best fits their skill set and interests and are provided with additional training in resume writing, interviewing and social and conflict management skills. To date, close to 10,000 youth have graduated from the program and have found work in their chosen fields.

After successfully graduating from DB Tech, 19 year old Rafiq Ahmad Pakhtoon found stable work as a customer care executive at a call center. Pakhtoon grew up in a poor family in Wangat village in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district. His father was a farmer and struggled to make enough money to support the family of five. Pakhtoon had little chance of obtaining a higher education or gaining the skills necessary to compete in India’s competitive job market. Today, with DB Tech’s training, it is Pakhtoon’s income that primarily supports his family.

“After facing many hardships in my life I decided to work as a waiter in a hotel but after learning about DB Tech guiding youth and shaping their careers, I thankfully landed a job with a good salary package,” said Pakhtoon in a recent Kashmir Images article about his success. “I am at a loss for words how to express my gratitude to DB Tech which shaped my career and saved my family from starvation.”

According to the International Labor Organization’s Global Employment Trends 2014 Report, the unemployment rate in India has been gradually increasing since 2011 when the rate was at 3.5 percent. The rate rose to 3.6 percent in 2012 and again climbed in 2013 to 3.7 percent. The unemployment rate is expected to continue to grow in 2014, according the report.

With more than 1.2 billion people, India has the world’s fourth largest economy and according to UNICEF, is home to one-third of the world’s poor. Close to 217 million of India’s poor are children. Although more than 53 million people escaped poverty between 2005 and 2010, most remain vulnerable to falling back below the poverty line.

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, too many secondary school graduates do not have the knowledge and skills to compete in today’s changing job market.

Sources

Don Bosco Tech India

International Labour Organization – Global Employment Trends 2014 Report

Kashmir Images – Don Bosco helps poor Kashmiri boy fulfill his dreams

UNICEF – India

The post INDIA: Don Bosco Technology Has Provided Employment Skill Training for 10,000 Poor Youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.