The 12th Annual National Convention of all Don Bosco TVET centers of India is being held  from 03^rd – 05^th February 2023 at Don Bosco Skill Mission, Bangalore (Karnataka). The Convention was graced by Fr. Biju Michael, (Regional Councilor, South-Asia); Fr. Davis MJ (Provincial Incharge and President of Don Bosco Tech Society); Fr. George Mathew (Executive Director, Don Bosco Tech Society); Fr. Noble George (Asst. Director, Don Bosco Tech Society) and Fr. Joseph Elavanal (Director, DBSM). The convention saw a participation of about 100 members which consists of Technical Commission Head and Principals and Directors of TVET centers from the 11 provinces in India along with National and State team members of Don Bosco Tech Society.

The theme for the convention is “Let’s Reconnect”, and focuses to revisit the origins of the network and to closely look at the ‘skilling memory lane’ with the idea of looking ahead to impact the lives of the needy youth in large numbers.

Fr. Davis MJ in welcoming the participants appreciated the synergy of this network towards the goal of Skilling, Re-skilling and Upskilling of youngsters. He mentioned that it is the great opportunity for all to gain insights from individual provinces and revisit our priorities for future growth to fulfill the mission for the needy. He wished that the major objectives of the skill India mission can be achieved by “going beyond the boundaries”

Fr. George Mathew shared the journey and achievements of Don Bosco Tech Society. As the organization moves towards achieving the milestone of 20 years by 2026, he emphasized the thought of, “where we are and where we ought to be”. Hence, this convention is organized to discuss the strategies to reach out to the more needy youth leading to their employment. It was surely a matter of pride that the network has been directly able to train more than 430000 youth and provide employment to 70% of them.

All the provinces had the opportunity to share experiences, ideas and plans for the coming years with regard to the ensuring greater impact for the NEET. The presentations were insightful and futuristic.

Four breakout groups discussed on current and preferred scenario relating to topics such as:

• Aligning our TVET to the current policies of the skilling ecosystem of the country,
• Visibility of the TVET programme at local and state levels
• Leveraging Linkages for better impact on youth
• The idea of network– as a lived experience.

Fr. Biju Michael’s concluding remarks while appreciating the great achievement directly to youth through skilling and employment reminded that as a Don Bosco organization, we are not merely a Non- profit but an organization with difference, interested and committed to the. well-being of youth to the full. He made the participants aware of the thought that our real identity is to work for needy youth. He also exhorted that we not only “Walk the Talk” but need to  “Talk the Walk” to increase the visibility of our good interventions of the youth. He praised the achievement of provinces, ground level beneficiaries and national team of Don Bosco Tech in areas of data of management, training, certification and placement in spite of facing many struggles and difficulties. He exhorted all present both the Salesians and the lay staff commending all as Salesians to  “Choose the poor, Employ the poor, Skill them to live well not just for work”. He also touched upon the need for having adequate data, proper certification to the youth and ensuring just employment opportunities for them.

Over the next two days the annual convention will delve deeper into the plan on skilling for tomorrow, compliances to the revised policies of the government and the possible new and innovative skilling initiatives.

The interactions, sharing of thoughts and dreams surely demonstrates the need and synergy of a network at national level and there is seen a commitment to work together as one body towards better impact and possibilities for the youth.