Don Bosco Workshops launches new clean energy training and projects

(MissionNewswire) Don Bosco Workshops, located in Montevideo, Uruguay, has launched a new photovoltaic microgeneration park and an electric vehicle technician training workshop. Authorities from the government, school staff, teachers and students attended a ceremony to celebrate the start of these two cutting-edge projects.

Father Miguel Suárez, rector of Don Bosco Workshops, highlighted that these projects are beginning as the school celebrates its 130th anniversary. The school is also a part of the Salesian Vocational Centers of America Network, composed of 22 centers.

Fr. Suárez said, “There is talk of changes in the DNA of education that is more rapid and dynamic. At Don Bosco Workshops, we are determined to accept the new challenges.”

He also highlighted that the school is focused on preparing youth for the future and recalled that with the help of the Inter-American Development Bank in 2000, Don Bosco Workshops began a process of skills-based education and training and adapting curricula according to the demands of the labor market.

Don Bosco Workshops has been focused on clean and renewable energy since August 2022. Thanks to foundation funding, the school added 150 photovoltaic panels on the roof, which will cut electricity consumption by more than 35 percent, allowing the funds that are saved to be used for educational innovation and technological upgrading. In addition, new training in the field of electric mobility has started.

Fr. Suárez added, “History has placed us in a labor market that requires skilled labor. We prepare youth for future employment with added soft skills and values. Salesian education has been a valid option for families who send their children to study in Montevideo from all corners of the country.”

Silvia Emaldi, president of the National Administration of State Electric Utilities and Transmission, expressed her gratitude for the contributions that will work for a better Uruguay.

Emaldi said, “As a Salesian past pupil, it is a great thrill to share and to see how many young people and teachers continue to make sure that Salesian work in the country is based on key values, such as study and work, that allow us to have opportunities throughout our lives. I am thrilled that my country’s specialists in the future of work have found in the courses being inaugurated here today, electric mobility and renewable energy, the careers of the future.”

Salesian missionaries offer many programs in Uruguay including shelters, primary and secondary schools, and technical and vocational education centers that help youth prepare for the future and learn the skills to be independent.

Uruguay has managed to decrease its poverty rate by almost half since 2007. Today, the poverty rate is close to 10 percent with the majority of poor residents concentrated in rural towns and villages. In addition to a lack of education and employment opportunities, access to affordable housing is a concern for many poor families. Many do not have the resources to purchase homes or land to build on, and schools are often so far away children cannot attend.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)

ANS – Uruguay – “Talleres Don Bosco” inaugurates two clean and renewable energy generation projects

Salesian Missions – Uruguay

World Bank – Uruguay