(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Technological College in Bangkok, Thailand, has been ensuring poor youth have access to advanced education since 1949. Education programs allow youth to gain the skills needed to find and retain stable employment. To do that successfully, the college has developed partnerships which help train youth in employment sectors that need a skilled workforce and have the jobs available to hire youth right after graduating.

BMW Group Thailand and Don Bosco Technological College have had an ongoing service apprentice program since 2017. The partnership teaches automotive skills, meeting the international standards in the field. The goal is to elevate Thai vocational education to match the German higher education standard. In the first year, 14 students from high vocational certificate classes took part in the program. The program has grown since this time.

“Salesian missionaries know the local economy and develop strategic partnerships to help educate poor youth in high-demand employment sectors,” says Father Gus Baek, director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Salesian programs aim to help provide youth with the technical education needed to find and retain long-term employment to help them break the cycle of poverty in their lives as well as contribute back to their families and communities.”

The BMW Group Thailand service apprentice program was initially launched in 2012, in collaboration with the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce and BMW authorized dealers. It is part of the German-Thai Dual Excellence Education program. Developed in Germany, the program has achieved outstanding success and has been adopted by many countries.

Participating students have been provided technical education to increase their knowledge and skills through theoretical and on-the-job training at the BMW Training Center and are supported by BMW certified technicians from authorized dealers. In addition, students are granted a full scholarship from BMW Group Thailand and will be employed by a BMW authorized dealer after a probation period.

In 2020, all successful graduates of Don Bosco Technological College received employment offers. Francis Wichai Srisura, head of the automotive mechatronics department, said, “We are glad that our Thai Bosconians are ready for the competitive industrial sector, not only with their human and religious education, but also with their excellent skills.”

Thailand has shown considerable economic growth over the last 20 years, reducing its poverty rate from 21 percent in 2000 to 10.9 percent today, according to the World Bank. Although the country has made strides in reducing poverty, improving nutrition and meeting the basic needs of its residents, inequality is still pervasive.

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ANS – Thailand – Fast-changing face of “Thai Valdocco”: Don Bosco Bangkok

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