1253 Professional Training for Marginalised Youth in the Southern Philippines
austraLasia 1253

Professional Training for Marginalised Youth in the Southern Philippines
Notes from a formal report to funding body

CEBU: 20th September 2005 --  It is good to receive a little news from Cebu, and this time an outstanding example of what can happen when as many as twelve Salesian activities on behalf of marginalised young people all pull together to carry out a project well capable of attracting the necessary funds:  we are speaking of a dozen vocational training centres run by the Salesians in the Cebu (FIS) province and supported with funds from the EU-based Katholische Zentralstelle fũr Entwicklungshilfe.
    The project is managed centrally by a Project Implementation Unit based at the Don Bosco Technology Centre in Cebu City.  Currently this PIU is managing improvement of quality training standards and overseeing implementation of training and production activities of eight Technology Centres across the Visayas Islands and Mindanao.
    There are clear indicators of success to date in labour-market orientation and in micro-enterprise development.  The vocational training centres have 3020 trainees registered and the drop out rate has decreased from 20% to 16% in the past year. 7.8% of the total number of graduates are represented by the former inmates of the Don Bosco Rehabilitation Centre.  To improve traceability and employability of former inmates, previously regarded as 'out of sight' following their release, DBRC is discussing the establishment of a jointly accredited training certificate with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
    It has been estimated that graduates from the Cebu-based Training Centres have contributed on average to an increase of family income in the order of 115%.  In the case of the rural Training Centres, the figure is as high as 230%!  There has been an increase in application for training positions by females, which has brought about a shift in Salesian thinking in the area, given that previous activities have all been directed towards boys.
    The Salesians have made it clear to their funding partners that they will be continuing their efforts well beyond the funding period and this has brought recognition from the EU funding partners that the project is praiseworthy for its sustainability. 
    austraLasia hopes to obtain some more information directly from some of the communities involved in the porject.
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