Don Bosco Tech organized an Alumni Meet ‘Oratory’ at Don Bosco Skill Mission (Bangalore) on September 22, 2019. Smt. Soumya Reddy (Member of the Legislative Assembly, Jayanagar) invited as the Chief Guest of the august occasion. A total of 340 alumni across states and programs gathering to renew friendships and relive their training program days that consisted of panel discussions, interactions, and entertainment. The meet witnessed alumni from various batches of different centers coming together to celebrate and share experiences. The alumni meet was centered on the theme ‘Oratory’, which is inspired by Don Bosco’s vision of a facility as a home, a playground, recreations and a place of learning. The event welcomed several successful candidates that have experienced all that Don Bosco Tech had to offer over the decades. It was not only a platform for the alumni to reconnect with their batch mates, but it served as a medium to interact with the past pupils to get firsthand information about the issues and challenges related to training and post-training.

In a metropolitan city like Bangalore, a total of 8741 youth from across India have been working in different sectors with a salary range of Rs 6,000 – Rs 45,000. They have undergone the training in different centres located in states like Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Sikkim and Jammu & Kashmir. Out of these alumni, maximum is migrated from North East, Karnataka, and Kerala for joining the workforce in the new economy.

The alumni meet commenced with welcoming the guests and alumni by Fr. George Mathew, SDB (Executive Director, Don Bosco Tech). He said, “The purpose and existence of this congregation called ‘Salesians of Don Bosco’ is to address the educational and livelihood requirement of youth.”  Fr. George welcomed the alumni with his compassionate words and mentioned the object of holding the Alumni Meet. He reiterated that the alumni are the treasured assets of the Don Bosco Tech and were an important stakeholder in the process of the advancement of the mission ‘Skilling India’. In this regard, he said, “Oratory is a platform to listen to you about your experience by which Don Bosco Tech can prepare the future aspirants better for the recent job market.” While addressing the alumni, he praised their achievements in diverse spheres of life. “With this experience, we intend to replicate in other cities to listen to those young people we have trained. Based on their valuable suggestions, we will do due course correction in the training so that we can be more relevant and meaningful for today and for a better tomorrow,” he shared.

The keynote address was delivered by Mr. Anil Rego (Founder and CEO, Right Horizons) on ‘Emerging Employment Market Demand’. He highlighted the future of vocational education and training (VET) in India while stressing the dual education system of Germany. While addressing the gathering, he advised, “It is very important to manage the money very effectively. Now many of you started working, you should keep aside a small portion what you earn on a monthly basis for your future which will help you achieve your goals in a much larger way.”

A panel discussion on ‘Youth – Readiness for Work’ was organized in which Mr. Kannan Parumal (Senior Vice President, Bharath Home Medicare), Ms. Prema Kumari (Deputy Manager, Barbeque Nation), Mr. Daniel Thomas (Accenture Citizenship) and Mr. Anil B. R. (Alumnus, Don Bosco Tech) invited to share their insights on this topic. Ms. Prema said, “In the Hospitality sector. Attitude plays a major role not only in professional career but personal life. It is also the readiness of your work. Your attitude should be very positive towards your work which is supplemented by passion. Passion should not be killed in you at any point of time whether it is a high or low time of your career.” She highlighted also other skills like leadership, communications, guest relations, etc. to prosper in the career. 

Sharing his firsthand experience and interventions of Don Bosco Tech, Mr. Kannan appreciated, “I can vouch for Don Bosco Tech because the training and infrastructure are extremely good because I visited many centers Don Bosco Tech in Madhya Pradesh. The dedication of staff members who are imparting skills is amazing.” Stressing on the future context of readiness of work, Mr. Daniel mentioned, “65 percent of children who are starting the school today will hold a job that does not exist today. Technology plays a vital role in this regard. Everyone should acquire and enhance your skills related to technology.”  He advised the alumni to become inter-dependent and have social intelligence skills which will help you to become future-ready. Being an alumnus of Don Bosco Tech, Mr. Anil shared his story of transformation from a ninth school dropout to a boxing coach. The Chief Guest Smt. Soumya Reddy addressed the alumni with an inspirational speech to become an independent and responsible citizen.

The Alumni Meet witnessed an active involvement of the alumni and a number of commendable suggestions and proposals were put forth by the participants. Many suggestions like upskilling, practical oriented training, longer duration training, etc. were suggested by the alumni. It was decided to strengthen the link between the alma mater and the alumni to facilitate alumni support in varied spheres like training, placement and career counseling. Various cultural programs performed by the students of alumni, trainees and staff members made the day vibrant and colorful. The Oratory ended with a promise to meet again and everyone bid an emotional farewell to each other.