Global Program Kickoff Workshop

The Global Program Project kick-off workshop was held in Nairobi form the 9^th to the 13^th of December 2019, at Roussel House, Nairobi – Kenya. The global program (GP) aims to empower the Salesian Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) offer in the Africa-Madagascar region. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry, through Don Bosco Mondo, Germany. The implementation will be coordinated by Don Bosco Tech Africa together with the Salesian provinces in Africa-Madagascar (Office of the Economer, PDO and the local TVET centers).

The Global Program consists of five (5) main pillars, namely:  Capacity Building, Modernization, JSO, Green TVET and Networking. These activities were explained to the participants as to how they will be implemented in different TVET centres in various provinces. Modernization activities will be implemented in six (6) countries, Green TVET in five (5) countries and Capacity building, Job Service Office and Networking will apply to all participating countries.

Capacity building will empower the Centre Management with Managerial Skills and the Instructors in Salesian Pedagogy and provision of modern approaches in teaching and preparation of market oriented, state-of-the-art trainings modules/curricula. All materials and courses provided will be conducted in the three main languages of the continent (Portuguese, French and English).

Modernization of the centres will see centres invest in equipment, infrastructure and the adaption of training materials and training of instructors on how to use the newly acquired equipment in the respective centres.

The Job Service Office (JSO) intervention will support the work of the JSOs at the local and national level. This intervention supports the liaison with the industries in order to support students during their studies, during their transition into the world of work and after graduation, which forms the basis for a decent living. The promotion of the JSO is an essential part of the Global Program. This pillar aims to empower the National JSO and through them the local JSOs.

On Green TVET, the project aims to create broad awareness to Salesian and Lay staff, students, SMEs, public sector and to the general public regarding green topics such as Waste Management, Solar, Waste-water Management and renewable energy (Biogas and Solar).

On Networking, the project aims to strengthen internal and external networking, knowledge transfer and learning from one another. The program will be able to train personnel on Networking, Public Relations and Cooperation with Industries. Furthermore, the exchange and network building between the participating countries through South-South Exchanges will be promoted.

In his welcoming speech DBTA Executive director Fr. TJ George reminded the participants that our responsibility is to the young and we should put the resources we have into good use for the young.  The young people need it and they deserve it. He said “the project requires hard work, dedication and careful implementation. The role of DBTA and Don Bosco Mondo – Bonn in this project is supportive and supervisory. The Provinces need to take responsibility and own the program”. On behalf of the Salesians in the region, he thanked the German government and Don Bosco Mondo for the continued support and funding for the project.