Indeed, their main strength as Salesian Educational Centers lies in Don Bosco's Preventive System. Their daily work is targeted and adapted to the needs of the students so that they acquire their skills and are guided to make their own transition to an active life of full citizenship.
Salesians today animate some 1,845 technical schools and vocational training centers in 108 countries, through which they educate more than 1.2 million people. In Europe, Salesian vocational training has 196 centers in 19 European countries (13 in EU member states), serving a total of 62,640 students.
According to a survey conducted in 2021 of all European Salesian vocational training centers, the average educational success of Salesian VTC students in Europe is 88.5 percent: one year after qualification/diploma, 34.46 percent of qualified students have a stable job/occupation, 54 percent continue their studies toward a diploma or higher vocational training, while only 7.3 percent remain without a stable job.
Thus the need to create a European network to represent and coordinate European Salesian VTCs becomes increasingly evident. That is why on November 28, 2021, the General Councilor for Youth Ministry, Fr. Miguel Angel García Morcuende, animated the Provincials of Europe about the work plan designed to implement this network, called "DBTech Europe."
From December 2021 to April 2022, a Commission with small numbers and made up of representatives from different European countries was created and worked to define the entity's goals, objectives, and content. In April and May 2022, the "framework document" was presented to the Provincials for approval and further development of the project.
The previous experience achieved through the "DBWAVE" project gave many opportunities to design the new reality of coordinating Vocational Education and Training in Europe more precisely. This project consisted of an educational response to increasing the employability and social inclusion of young people through Vocational Education and Training. The website https://dbtecheurope.eu shows the path taken in this direction and collects common information and tools for European Salesian vocational education and training that are part of the strategy of the future network.
The medium-term "framework document" aims to achieve 7 specific objectives: to promote the internationalization of Salesian student profiles; to promote the professional and technical development of teachers, trainers, and managers of Salesian schools; to improve the quality, relevance, openness, and inclusiveness of Salesian training systems in Europe; to promote the relevance of vocational training centers, services and systems in Europe to the Salesian educational project; develop strategic alliances and build collaborations for innovation; promote and publicize the Salesian pedagogy, brand, and vision of vocational training; build a network that fosters representativeness, adoption of qualified management procedures and sustainability.
A person has been chosen to coordinate the project, and in the coming months the strategic plan, legal form, location, basic organizational chart, and all the necessary steps for the economic sustainability of this important new Salesian initiative will be studied.
The reference document is available at the bottom of the page.
