Vocational_Training_Center_VTC_ENG


Vocational_Training_Center_VTC_ENG

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Vocational
Training
Center (VTC)
Salesian Youth
Ministry Sector

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Graphic design: Artia Comunicación
Illustrations: Javier Carabaño
Translation: Fr. Jose Lorbeth Vivo
Property reserved to the Sector for Youth Ministry, SDB
Salesians of Don Bosco – Headquarters
Via Marsala, 42. 00185 Rome
Vocational
Training
Center (VTC)
Salesian Youth
Ministry Sector

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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
MO Memoirs of the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales from 1815 to
1855 by John Bosco. Introductory essay and historical notes
edited by Aldo Giraudo (Rome, LAS 2011).
FR The Salesian Youth Ministry. Frame of Reference (Rome, 2014).
YMF Salesian Youth Ministry and Family. Sector for Youth Ministry
(Rome, 2021).
YML A Youth Ministry That Educates to Love. Sector for Youth
Ministry (Rome, 2023).
EPC Educative-Pastoral Community.
Const./Reg. Constitutions and Regulations of the Society
of St. Francis de Sales (1984).
VTC Vocational Training Center.
SEPP Salesian Educative-Pastoral Project.
Summary
Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 1
The originality of the Salesian Vocational Training Center . . . . . . . 9
1.1 Don Bosco's Desire to Ensure Dignity and a Future for
Young People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2 The Salesian School and Vocational Training Center . . . . . 13
1.3 Pre-professional Training Centers and Boarding Schools . 15
Chapter 2
The Educative-Pastoral Community of the Salesian Vocational
Training Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1 The Importance of the Salesian VTC
Educative-Pastoral Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.2 The Subjects of the Salesian VTC EPC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Chapter 3
The Educational-Pastoral Proposal of the Salesian Vocational
Training Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
3.1 Inspiration from Gospel Values and the Faith Proposal . . . 24
3.2 Efficient and Qualified Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.3 Salesian Pedagogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.4 Social Function and Attention to Those Most in Need . . . . 31
3.5 A Welcoming Environment in Multicultural and
Multireligious Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Chapter 4
The Organic Pastoral Animation of the Salesian Vocational
Training Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.1 Main Interventions of the Proposal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.2 The Structures of Participation and Accountability. . . . . . . 45
Local Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Provincial/National/Regional Animation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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Presentation
Since its beginnings, the Salesian Society has been known
and appreciated for its Vocational Training Centers,
through which young people are offered quality human formation and
preparation for work, enabling them to face their future with confidence
and responsibility.
Don Bosco’s intense biographical experience as a boy reminds us how,
by skill and necessity, he learned numerous trades while playing as a
professional acrobat; he became a general of games and recreations; a
founder of schools and workshops; a guardian of the rights of young
workers under mutual aid associations and with apprenticeship contracts
in collaboration with local businesses; he surrounded himself with staff
filled with an all-encompassing dedication among the students who most
reciprocated the good received by embracing the same charismatic identity.
These young and very first Salesians whom we can authentically call co-
founders of Don Bosco learn at the school of their master, they are doubly
his pupils. First, as boys to be educated, as wolves turning into lambs, and
second, as aspiring educators, as lambs turning into shepherds (cf. Don
Bosco’s Dream of 9 years).
Still today, one of the main motivations behind Salesian Vocational
Training is the realization that within our centers practices and projects
are put in place that are distinguished by their level of innovation, by
the attention with which they are calibrated to the needs and desires of
learners and families, by the involvement and family spirit they manage to
trigger between the team of educators and the group of learners, by the
educational success of the learners and social equity for all.
6
Certainly, these pages should be used as opportunities to rethink one’s
formative action and revise one’s paths in VTCs in a way that is more
congruent with the Salesian educational-pastoral proposal. Teacher
training is perhaps the most demanding phase, made up of contacts,
moments of confrontation, and dialogue, but it is also the most significant
investment for a real increase in the quality of the Salesian and formative
offerings of one’s center.
Fr. Miguel Angel García Morcuende, sdb
General Councilor for Youth Ministry
ROME, 31ST JULY 2024
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THE ORIGINALITY OF
THE SALESIAN
VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
CHAPTER
I
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THE ORIGINALITY OF THE SALESIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
“It was at that time that I discovered from experience that if youngsters
who came out of the place of punishment can only find a benevolent hand,
which takes care of them, assists them on holidays, studies to place them
to work with some honest employer, and going sometimes to visit them
along the week, these young men gave themselves to an honorable life,
forgot the past, became good Christians and honest citizens” (MO, 129).
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DON BOSCO’S DESIRE TO ENSURE DIGNITY
AND A FUTURE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
❖ The Vocational Training Center and Salesian school were born in Valdocco
to respond to the concrete needs of young people and to include them in a
global project of education and evangelization, especially the most needy.
From the very beginning of his activity Don Bosco was interested in the
development of young people both from the point of view of studies
and from the point of view of work. He decided to create educational
spaces open to the poorest sectors of the population. More concretely, Don
Bosco’s first Oratory began as an initiative for young workers. They
were called “artisans” and had regulations and an educational itinerary
designed specifically for them.
In the first draft of the Constitutions (1858) of the future Society
of St. Francis of Sales, Don Bosco defines the beneficiaries of the
work of the Salesians, who “must be provided with shelter, food and
clothing and, at the same time, must be instructed in the truths of
the faith; in addition, they will be initiated into an art or a trade
as is currently done in the House attached to the Oratory of St.
Francis de Sales in the city” (G. Bosco, Costituzioni della Società di S.
Francesco di Sales [1858] -1875, Roma, LAS, 1982, p. 75, art. III and IV).
As early as 1853, Don Bosco had set up a modest shoemaking workshop
for young apprentices in a small room of the first socio-educational institute
founded in Valdocco, Turin. From then on, the “artisans’ section” occupied
an increasingly important place in the House attached to the Oratory of St.
Francis de Sales and in other Salesian houses, alongside the boys attending
humanistic studies. With a clear preventive concern - to avoid the serious
moral dangers of workshops in the city - and with an explicit practical
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
purpose, he opened six workshops in this annexed house: the one already
mentioned for shoemakers (1853), and later: for tailors (1853), bookbinders
(1854), carpenters (1856), typographers (1861) and locksmiths (1862).
❖ As can be seen, the world of work in Don Bosco’s mind underwent
a continuous and progressive evolution and ended with the opening
of in-house workshops with the fundamental purpose of educating young
people and, consequently, making them live in an environment that
would allow them to grow in their professional and human and Christian
fulfillment. The establishment of the workshops and vocational schools at
Valdocco represented for Don Bosco a continuous development toward an
ever-open improvement of this Salesian educational environment within
the Salesian ‘home’.
When Valdocco was looking for ways to improve the condition of the
artisans, Don Bosco was naturally thinking of many aspects: religious
and moral along with those related to education; cleanliness and hygiene;
commitment to work; the need to make the workshops more productive;
and the organization of school life (festive celebrations, games, gymnastics,
hiking to the countryside, vocal and instrumental music, evenings, and
theatrical performances, which were to “entertain and instruct”).
Don Bosco felt the need to have them “in-house” precisely to achieve the
purpose of his formative intervention. And insiders not only as boarders
(he began in 1847), but also as students and artisans. Don Bosco preferred
to create his large workshops, the production cycle of which provided a
useful apprenticeship for young apprentices at the popular and school level.
Animated by a desire to ensure dignity and a future for young people, Don
Bosco gave life to the workshops of arts and crafts and, at the same time,
helped his young people in their search for work and procured contracts
for them to prevent their exploitation. One of these is dated Feb. 8, 1852,
and is the “contract” between master Giuseppe Bertolino and young
Giuseppe Odasso, “with the intervention of Rev. Fr. John Bosco, and with
the assistance and authorization of the father of this boy.”
This service and preparation would be enriched with the vocation and
presence of the Salesian Coadjutor. Don Bosco gradually began to include
Salesian Coadjutors to realize the envisioned educational environment. In
1860, it can be said that this new figure of a full-fledged Salesian member
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THE ORIGINALITY OF THE SALESIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
of the Society, intimately associated with the great mission of youth,
officially took shape.
This is the matrix of today’s VTCs that are concerned with
promoting the human, Christian and professional
formation of young people. This proposal responds to the
predispositions, abilities and perspectives of many of them who,
upon completion of basic education, aspire to enter the world of
work. Vocational training turns out to be and still involves, an
effective tool for integral human maturation and the prevention
of youth distress, as well as for promoting Christian animation in
social reality and development in the business world.
❖ Don Bosco’s initiative is based without difficulty on the personal
experiences he himself described in his Memoirs of the Oratory. In order
to understand the educational value of work as recognized by Don Bosco,
from the very beginning of his educational work, it is necessary to keep
in mind the sense of duty, of industriousness that Margaret Occhiena in
particular transmitted to him.
Don Bosco himself had been a small worker, a student-worker, and had
known from an early age the toil of working under a master. As a boy he
participated in farm work on the family land; as a student in Chieri, he was
an apprentice tailor in Roberto Gioanni’s house; and a “coffee and liquor
maker” in Gioanni Pianta’s bar and boarding house. On summer vacations
during his seminary years, he helped in the fields and did carpentry work.
After his ordination to the priesthood and the beginning of his pastoral work
- from 1841 to 1843 - he came into contact with young bricklayers, painters,
and pavers who frequented his Oratory, which opened on the outskirts of
Turin, in the neighborhoods of Valdocco and Borgo Dora.
❖ In short, as a place of gathering, recreation, evangelization, catechesis and
social promotion, the Oratory turns out to be an adequate response to
the “educational emergency” of his time. Don Bosco was unique in his
pursuit of education and evangelization of the poor and less privileged of his
time, as society of the time tended to work with and for the privileged and
middle class because of the prestige and advantages associated with them.
The protection of young apprentices and their vocational training was a
goal pursued tenaciously by Don Bosco at a time in history when industrial
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
development was taking off. Don Bosco knew how to grasp the risks they
faced in a society moving from a predominantly agricultural economy to a
market economy. It was important to him to provide these disadvantaged
youth with useful skills. Moreover, he went beyond this need by providing
what they needed most: the development of their personalities and the
formation of their values. With this holistic proposal, VTC is designed to
equip marginalized youth with skills, attitudes and faith that will help build
a better society.
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THE SALESIAN SCHOOL
AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
The Salesian School and Salesian VTC are two systematic training
structures with their own characteristics. There is no true Salesian
school that does not aim to prepare young people for work, nor is there
a true Salesian VTC that does not take into account the systematic
elaboration of culture.
VTC, like school, is part of the integral proposal for the education and
evangelization of young people, and both have distinctive aspects. It is
important to define the scope and boundaries of each of the two mission
areas.
In general, the VTC educates with work and to work in a more
direct and short-term way, with the learning of professionalism,
a positive integration in society and with different models and
programs than the school. In some countries, the VTC has generally
increased its relevance by considering pacts or agreements in
different countries and agreements on employment, productivity,
industrial relations, etc., with different local governments, agencies
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
In the specific Salesian area, VTCs differ from schools in that they ensure:
◗◗ It has a SEPP that focuses on the most socially, economically and
culturally disadvantaged (at-risk) youth according to the Salesian
pedagogical system.
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THE ORIGINALITY OF THE SALESIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
◗◗ The Salesian VTC promotes inclusive access to education for the world
of work with equal opportunities, a sense of responsibility through
training internships designed with companies in their respective areas
and ensures preparation, upgrading and development of skills for
work with continuous and quality processes.
◗◗ Through the VTC, we create spaces for interaction with the
productive, labor and economic sectors, develop placement
processes and promote equal inclusion in the world of formal work,
strengthening in young people the responsibility that the complexity
of the world of work requires.
◗◗ The development of social and spiritual skills is promoted through
the integral design of SEPP with a humanistic and evangelical view
of work. In addition to promoting job skills, 21st-century skills are
also developed.
◗◗ Learning by “doing” is promoted, allowing learners to experiment
with their skills, to link operative-ness to knowledge.
◗◗ Educative Pastoral Communities are formed through processes of
pedagogical reflection and knowledge management that involve both
educators and youth in educational processes in line with technical
and scientific progress.
◗◗ Due to their ability to fit into their environment and culture, VTCs are
well integrated into the historical and normative context defined by
the laws of each country and promote research that supports social
justice, productivity, respect, sustainability and inclusion.
◗◗ In some countries, the VTC has become an excellent place for the
education of young people, including non-Catholic and non-Christian
youth. In these contexts, the provision of vocational education has
been the reason for the acceptance of the Salesian presence. The VTC
has evolved into an open institution that welcomes poor youth and
helps them learn skills and grow in the values common to Christian
and non-Christian denominations. As a way forward, some VTCs
prudently collaborate with the leaders of other religions to teach the
faith to their students belonging to those religions.
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
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PRE-PROFESSIONAL TRAINING CENTERS
AND BOARDING SCHOOLS
❖ There are also Pre-Vocational Training Centers with a particular
formulation and diversified proposals: career guidance, education
and training, upgrading, retraining, socio-occupational insertion and
reintegration, and promotion of social entrepreneurship. They contribute
to the personal success of each individual and cater to a wide range of
target groups: young people in compulsory education; youth and adults
seeking employment; young people in situations of hardship or school
dropout; and migrants or apprentices. These pathways provide a highly
individualized proposal to facilitate re-entry into the formal school system or
to be initiated into the world of work. This pre-vocational training includes
a series of interventions designed to sensitize individuals to the work
environment and prepare them to manage better the stages of entering
new employment.
❖ Some provinces offer the service of a boarding school for young
people attending VTCs. Boarding schools are equipped with a residential
facility that allows the students to stay during the entire day, including
the night period. Most importantly, the boarding school can create an
environment where young people feel supported.
It is a conducive environment for study in an atmosphere of peaceful
living together. Young people are constantly accompanied by a team of
educators. Great importance is assumed in boarding schools by the figure
of the educator: assisting and advising the students during the hours of
study and recreation; sitting with them in the cafeteria and accompanying
them throughout the day. In some cases, the educator also takes care of
the human and cultural formation that provides support for daily study.
The daily schedule is well planned to ensure school attendance, study,
recreation, healthy sports and spiritual activities.
Due to the “24/7” nature of the bond, there is a sense of family,
community and friendship that comes from living together,
caring for and supporting each other, and spending leisure time
together. The boarding schools offer facilities for music or sports
so that students have a wide range of activities, programs and
challenges to choose from each day.
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THE ORIGINALITY OF THE SALESIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
Indeed, the Salesian boarding school is an environment to live in a
community where learning, personal growth and exploration are a top
priority, where spiritual formation is savored, where programs and activities
are varied, where making friends is paramount, and where success is
celebrated.
Boarding schools are also an important form of protection for children
at risk of emergencies, such as civil wars. In many places, Salesians run
hostels to provide shelter and education for street children and those
displaced by ongoing conflicts. The boarding school atmosphere is critical
to a child’s physical and mental health and development. Boarding schools
provide good nutrition, hygiene and sanitation; a balanced daily routine
with personal hygiene; education; sports and recreation; and study
habits. Children are introduced to new ways of life, new routines and
responsibilities, new technologies, as well as new teachers and classmates
from outside their community.
VOPCAASTTIOONRAALLETRGAIOINVIANNGILCEEENTFAEMR I(GVLTCIA)
THE EDUCATIVE-PASTORAL
COMMUNITY OF THE SALESIAN
VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
CHAPTER
II
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THE EDUCATIVE-PASTORAL COMMUNITY OF THE SALESIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
“Among the principal works of charity exercised by our Pious Society is that
of sheltering, as far as possible, those youngsters who are so abandoned
that all care for them proves useless, of instructing them in the truths of
the Catholic faith, and of initiating them into some art or trade. Therefore,
in those houses where the number of artisans is considerable, one of the
members may be appointed to take special care of them under the name
of professional counselor.” (“Address to be given to the working class in
Salesian houses,” from the Deliberations of the Fourth General Chapter
of the Pious Salesian Society 1886 - it was the last one held under Don
Bosco’s presidency).
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THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SALESIAN
VTC EDUCATIVE-PASTORAL COMMUNITY
In the decades between the end of the 20th century and the beginning of
the 21st century, there has been a move from an institutional educational
model to a community educational model, from a model in which education
has been delegated to certain consecrated persons (religious, professors)
to a model of active participation of all those involved in the educational
process.
The Educative-Pastoral Community (EPC) is the new subject of
educational responsibility and the educational environment. The
convergence of intentions and convictions on the part of all members
makes the work of SEPP (with different ways of membership or connection)
easier and more effective in Salesian VTCs.
The goal of the mission carried out by a VTC is this committed
community for the youth of today. This community is made up of
several people who share visions about Salesian education,
establish relationships with the corporate structure,
propose educational processes and organize themselves
around a project.
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
2 2 THE SUBJECTS OF THE SALESIAN VTC EPC
We can confirm that the future of our societies depends on our Vocational
Education and Training. The nature and scope of vocational education
and training, especially initial vocational education and training, is broad
and heterogeneous and involves different groups (adults in continuing
education, workers, the unemployed, people in different situations, etc.) In
particular, Salesians seek to contribute as a priority to the inclusion of young
people between the ages of 15 and 24 into the labor market and society.
The education and training system today must have all the necessary tools,
resources and quality to effectively qualify, retrain and update the young
population.
❖ Learners are the primary protagonists of the educational journey.
They are not just beneficiaries of the educational process, but active agents
of their own formation and development. They actively and creatively
participate in the development and realization of the formative goals in
their various stages and are not merely notified; they grow in relational
skills through their training and education.
In response to the need expressed by young people for serious
cultural and professional preparation, the VTC takes care of
accompanying them to the meaning of life and work, taking
into account their differentiated needs, aptitudes and aspirations.
The Salesian VTC establishes paths, activities and initiatives that
essentially address this concern.
❖ According to Don Bosco’s expression, the teaching staff creates with
young people a “family,” a youth community where the interests and
experiences of young people are placed at the foundation of the entire
educational arc. The teachings of one’s own Master are crystallized in the
memory of each student. Therefore, in the Salesian VTC, one sees and
glimpses an encounter with a witness of authentic life and dedication to
teaching. In fact, the Salesian method can only work through unconditional
dedication like that of Don Bosco, who said, “Near or far I always think
of you. Only one is my desire: that of seeing you happy in time and in
eternity” (Letter from Rome to the Salesian community of the Turin-
Valdocco Oratory, Rome, May 10, 1884).
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THE EDUCATIVE-PASTORAL COMMUNITY OF THE SALESIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
For this, educators will be effective in training students if their qualifications
and Salesian formation are adequate. This requires that VTCs develop
and implement a professional development program to improve the
professional, managerial, technical, pedagogical, Salesian and pastoral
skills of their educators.
In Don Bosco’s time, the selection of educators has always been
fundamental, aiming for a high level of professionalism and educational
relationships. In addition to the selection of workshop leaders, their training,
apprenticeship, and the coordinated and formative collaboration between
the various superiors of the vocational schools and the trainers are crucial.
Educators not only teach but “assist,” work, study and pray together with
the students. They are willing to be with young people, able to take on
their problems and listen to their concerns.
Don Bosco described them: “The teacher seen only in the desk is a
teacher and no more, but if he goes to recreation with the young, he
becomes like a brother” (Letter from Rome to the Salesian community
of Turin – Valdocco, Rome, May 10, 1884).
The teaching staff is composed of Salesians and lay people fully inserted
in the educative pastoral commitment according to the Salesian project and
their professional expertise:
◗◗ The choice of lay people is an expression of a careful and thoughtful
decision that demands balance, seriousness and a coherent tenor
of life: lay people who assume their educational commitment
joyfully, and are open to the pedagogical interests proper to the
Salesian VTC. They have professional competence and readiness
for systematic updating and actively participate in planning and
evaluation processes. Their educational professionalism values
interpersonal relationships and is characterized by a fundamental
ethical dimension, understood as a personal witness, which helps
students acquire values. Lay teachers bring their experience of lay life,
expressed culturally and professionally in their life choices, knowledge
and activities, including extra-curricular activities. It is recommended
that the criteria for hiring educators and their induction program
be written in a handbook or manual for permanent reference and
guidance.
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
◗◗ For their part, the religious teachers testify to their experience as
consecrated persons who inspire new ways of engaging culture and
education according to a Christian vision of life, humanity and history.
They can become a motivating stimulus to guide, inspire and motivate
the collaborators to be truly Salesian educators.
❖ The auxiliary and administrative staff contribute to the educational
action through the care they exercise for the VTC, the relational style and
the good logistical and organizational functioning.
The administrative staff performs the administrative, accounting, management,
instrumental, and operational functions related to the activities of the VTC, in
a collaborative relationship with the Director and the teaching staff. The role
of the administrative staff is also indispensable as a support to the teaching
action and the enhancement of their skills; it is decisive for the efficiency and
effectiveness of the service and the achievement of educational goals.
The quality of the relationship with the public and with the staff is of
fundamental importance since it contributes to determining the educational
climate of the VTC and to fostering the communicative process between
the different components that move in or around the educational center.
❖ Each VTC seeks and promotes, in the balance of their respective
competencies and safeguarding the respect of the educational relationship
in the Centre and the collaboration with the family. Pupils and teachers
need their presence: which becomes impetus, support, and sharing of
educational goals, difficulties and goals.
The family remains a point of reference for students and therefore it is not
possible to ignore it; if the family is present in a positive way, collaboration
is easier. With the family, mutual recognition becomes necessary; the
development of mutual respect is essential.
Some Salesian VTCs offer formation to parents of students, who are the
first educators of their children and collaborate with educators in the
holistic process of education and evangelization. Through the formation
programs, parents become responsible members of the EPC. It is good
to acknowledge the presence and assistance of some parents who are
members of the Salesian Family as their collaboration with educators can
be particularly exemplary.
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THE EDUCATIVE-PASTORAL COMMUNITY OF THE SALESIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
Finally, Don Bosco’s Preventive System is inspired by the family and practiced
in family relationships. It is part of our VTCs to serve as a model of relationship
and growth in dialogue with adolescents and young people:
“Parents’ Associations, Family Groups, School-Family
Collaboration Programs and other initiatives can be structured
according to a wide range of proposals with different emphases:
charitable and service-oriented, formative, spiritual and educative-
pastoral. However, each action, with its specificities, is called to
be a sign and stimulus for young people and to introduce into the
formative proposal a more fraternal style of personal relationships
that reveals the family dimension of the EPC and the Church”
(YMF, Chapter 3, 3.2).
❖ Other professionals play an important role within our VTCs in the
Salesian world (experts in personalised guidance and mentoring) or even
outside the EPC (in-company mentors, experienced alumni and other
stakeholders). For this reason, the role of the company is indispensable.
The area of school-company relationships is also crucial for the success,
particularly of internships or periods of on-the-job training at a company or
institution: often the success of the internship depends on the right match
between the student and the company mentor.
Consequently, we ensure the involvement of all those social and business forces
that are particularly interested in the Vocational Training of workers, especially
young workers. We need socially committed companies that are able to take
a formative and transformative role in the lives of young people, especially
those most in need.
Vocational Training in a work setting needs to be supported by the different
forms of articulation of the training process (Regulations, framework
agreements) between the VTC and the company, with both environments
aiming to achieve more comprehensive learning. This approach requires
a close relationship between the different teaching-learning agents and
environments, with structure, management and systematization playing
a key role in both VTC and training companies. We refer not only to
companies but also to other workplaces such as public agencies (municipal,
regional or national agencies) or nonprofit organizations.
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
THE EDUCATIONAL-PASTORAL
PROPOSAL OF THE SALESIAN
VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
CHAPTER
III

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THE EDUCATIONAL-PASTORAL PROPOSAL OF THE SALESIAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
“The aim that the Pious Salesian Society proposes in receiving and educating
young artisans is to raise them in such a way that on leaving our houses,
having completed its apprenticeship, they may have learned their trade so
that they may honorably earn the bread of life; they may be well-instructed
in religion and have the scientific knowledge appropriate to their state. It
follows that threefold must be the address to be given to their religious-
moral, intellectual and professional education.” (“Address to be given to
the working part in Salesian houses,” from the Deliberations of the Fourth
General Chapter of the Pious Salesian Society 1886 - it was the last one
held under Don Bosco’s presidency).
The Salesian educator has the task and the art of thinking about the content
of his teaching from the point of view of the integral development of young
people. The goal is to provide students with numerous opportunities to
enhance their professional and personal development, a comprehensive
development of each of their faculties and dimensions, as well as
the values derived from them.
On the one hand, job skills, that is, those essential for work; on
the other hand, the attitudinal skills of “knowing how to be” and
“knowing how to act”. The latter include affective-motivational
and social-relational skills: maturity, emotional security, self-
esteem and sense of self-efficacy, empathy, assertive communication,
teamwork and leadership, conflict management and resolution, good
interpersonal relationships, and personal ethics, among others.
At this point, it is appropriate to briefly recall some essential features of the
educative-pastoral practice that make Salesian VTC an excellent means of
holistic formation: a valuable element in the development of the upright
citizen, and a context for effective evangelization of the good Christian.
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INSPIRATION FROM GOSPEL VALUES
AND THE FAITH PROPOSAL
❖ With extraordinary educational genius Don Bosco succeeds in finding
new responses for the youth reality of his time, analyzing its complexity
and interpreting its needs. Moreover, he knows all human aspects: from
work to family, moral and religious life.
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
It should be noted that students in our centers generally have different ideas and
perceptions of life and hold a variety of worldviews. However, our educational
proposal is first and foremost an ecosystem whose fundamental value lies
precisely in the search for the well-being of the person with a view to holistic
maturation. The central concern of the VTC is the wholeness of the person,
whether man or woman and their equal dignity and complementary ability
to build the society. Because the mere offering of vocational subjects, however
great it may be, is unable to produce good Christians and upright citizens.
The VTC intends to create a network of interventions based on the SEPP
and the situation of the young people it welcomes. In this context, three
educational-pastoral proposals for the VTC environment are listed below:
the centrality of spirituality and work ethic; the accompaniment of students;
and the revitalization of the humanistic dimension.
❖ It seems important to us to recover in our Vocational Training Centers
the centrality of spirituality and the work ethic. Simple spirituality is
part of everyday life, and it also ennobles the person. It is a spirituality that
is a source for overcoming challenges and an ethical life, for the search and
recovery of human, scientific, moral and spiritual values.
It becomes necessary to recover a “spirituality of work,” understood not
solely as a one more task to be carried out, but as a privileged form of
communication, self-expression, self-realization, interpersonal and social
relationships that are always new, and the contribution of the human
being to the improvement of the world in which he or she lives and works.
The technical-scientific culture is insufficient from the point of view of the
growth of the person: it even runs the risk, if made absolute, of excluding
the possibility of access to the more human dimension. The need for serious
technical training cannot be separated from a broader ethical training. Indeed,
there is no doubt that human work has an ethical value, which is completely
and directly linked to the fact that the person who carries it out is a person, a
conscious and free subject, i.e. a subject who decides for him/herself.
Good ethical behaviour will enable the learner to set priorities and choose
the best values in the service of which to put techniques and skills.
As we have seen, Don Bosco felt the extraordinary edifying power of the
human personality in all the senses and moments of work as an educational
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tool. In this sense, the pedagogy of work is an important element of a
holistic Salesian education for life in today’s world:
“Provinces will foster a commitment to the education of young
workers. They will participate in the pastoral activity of the
particular Churches by offering special initiatives and services.
They will strive to be well-informed about the world of work and
the conditions under which young people work. They will ensure
that Vocational Training Centers pay attention to pastoral,
pedagogical and technical aspects and that appropriate programs
are developed to educate young people in an authentic spirituality
of work.” (Reg. 2)
❖ A fundamental starting point is the accompaniment of young
people: getting to know their human and religious richness, observing
the context of their environment, assessing how much positivity they have
within them, and listening carefully to their expectations. The laboratory,
the classroom, the courtyard and all the other spaces of the Center are a
place of encounter, beyond the different roles. Essential is this “pedagogy
of daily situations” that hides enormous educational possibilities: they
are “free” opportunities for listening and proposing; it is a ministry of
familiarity.
This connectivity of daily interactions generates relationships characterized
by mutual acceptance, unconditional respect, collaboration and a sense of
responsibility, and is thus evangelical. The ability to build relationships that
are not only functional but active is one of the key elements of the quality
of Christian-inspired Vocational Training institutions.
❖ The scope of gender identity laws passed by some governments
and their many important implications for the education sector cannot be
minimised. On the one hand, many of these legal provisions contain rules
that educational institutions must follow in the event that a student raises
a particular situation related to his or her gender identity. On the other
hand, they contain more or less prescriptive guidelines for the education
of students on these issues.
This second aspect, in particular, is of great importance for training in our
Vocational Training Centers and touches on very important issues related
to the concept of the person to be taught, which come into contact -
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
and sometimes clash head-on - with the anthropological assumptions of a
Christian view of the person.
It is therefore important, and not only because of these laws, that Salesian
VTCs have a programme of affective-sexual education that is adapted to
the different ages of the students. Students must be supported in their
maturation process, in full accordance with Christian anthropology and
with respect for their personal rights and freedoms.
Furthermore, it is essential to convey a message of support and full respect
for each person in our centres, aware of their individuality. Personal matters
require careful and prudent handling, always for the benefit of the young
person, especially in the light of our principles and values. Every young
person needs time and an environment of trust in which to grow. It is
therefore important to create a friendly and welcoming environment for
all students.
Finally, in this context, it is necessary for the Province to establish a set of
criteria (see YML, chapter 7), guidelines and protocols that determine how
to act in situations related to gender identity experienced by the students.
All these tools must be known by all the staff of the centre (religious,
teachers, various collaborators, volunteers, etc.) since they are all educators.
In this sense, it is necessary to promote measures to detect, prevent and
protect against discrimination or harassment and to avoid the transmission
of discriminatory content. This action necessarily entails education on the
fundamental principle of respect for the human dignity inherent in every
person.
❖ The current context makes it desirable that Vocational Training should
be rooted in an education that does not separate the technical from
the humanistic. One cannot address the question of culture and work in
a Catholic-inspired Vocational Training Center without bringing to light the
agenda of values (centered on a shared vision of the person, the world and
God) with a holistic anthropological vision inspired by Christian humanism.
It is absolutely necessary to avoid the risk of neglecting or even
excluding the link with the fundamental values that underlie
scientific and technological “knowledge.” Education in values,
ideals and research are some of the educational aspects that form
the backbone of an integral educational action.
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In the different subject areas, teachers introduce students to a living or vital
encounter with the cultural and professional heritage in dialogue with Christian
humanism. In this sense, special attention is paid to the careful selection of
textbooks and other teaching materials. However, where necessary, the production
of reference books is also encouraged to ensure that the content is based on
authentic values and is consistent with the Social Doctrine of the Church.
The training reality as it has developed and as it is maintained and
implemented by the VTCs, despite the difficulties, enables the Church to
have a presence in the world of work. Those who work in the VTCs are
aware that giving a qualification to a young person, to a person who needs
work, is already today an opportunity for a first step towards salvation.
3 2 EFFICIENT AND QUALIFIED EDUCATION
❖ Among the many ways through which evangelization can be realized,
we Salesians favor those in which the educational concern is most
respected, where its well-defined processes are guaranteed. In a very
general sense, education is a “planned” intervention (with specific goals,
defined roles, and appropriate experiences) and teamwork (EPC). With
this in mind, Salesian VTCs offer a quality educational-cultural proposal
in which:
◗◗ the teaching/learning dynamics are grafted onto a solid educational
foundation to manage the right transition to a green and digital
economy, in times of demographic and economic cycles changes;
◗◗ it is to identify, plan and implement Vocational Training that is
accredited and aimed at educational success, countering school and
training dropouts;
◗◗ continuous attention is cultivated so that young people are able to
think critically about their experience, their lives and the natural,
social and cultural, local and global context in which they are found;
◗◗ an orderly pedagogical-methodological approach is offered, fostering
in young people the discovery of their project of life;
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
◗◗ the continuous updating of the professional qualification and Salesian
identity of all members of the EPC is guaranteed with systematic
processes of ongoing formation;
◗◗ an adequate pedagogy and planning of the educational action is
fostered by taking care of the close relationship of educational,
didactic, and pastoral objectives;
◗◗ a network and common experiences connecting all VTC educators
and students throughout the Salesian world are ensured.
❖ The cutting edge is the educational-vocational dimension of
orientation, that is, capable of accompanying each young person to
know himself, his aptitudes and inclinations, and the world of work and
professions, enabling him to choose the project for his future and the best
way to achieve it.
Guidance understood in this way is not limited to the provision of an occasional
service that intervenes in decision-making moments with tests submitted by
technicians and psychologists, but takes the form of an educational journey
that accompanies the young person; indeed, a collective enterprise, which
requires teachers to recognize the interests and desires of their students but
also to concretely support and realistically encourage their path, so that the
choices they are considering are transformed into effective possibilities.
❖ It is imperative to ensure formation in professionalism, in which
the young person is involved in an overall educational process in which,
alongside work-related skills, he learns the rights and duties of active
citizenship; in which he/she experiences social behaviors marked by
cooperation, individual responsibility and solidarity; in which he increases
his own cultural knowledge; in which he matures his identity in order to
integrate into the social and civil fabric.
The main purpose of VTC is not the schooling of students, but
their integration into the world of work. This is a short-term job
prospect; in many cases, it is the last opportunity to enter the world
of work. It is, therefore, an education “for” the work of young
people and an education “through” work, a fundamental
element of the Salesian educational-pastoral proposal: work is not
only considered an existential necessity, but also a value through
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which one builds, realizes, and expresses one’s creative capacity
and more generally one’s personality.
It is necessary to ensure employability that guarantees students the possibility
of finding a job and the involvement they have achieved with the business
fabric. For this, it is necessary to establish new learning methods and develop
and expand training offerings, particularly in the growing labor sectors.
For this reason, vocational training centers must also offer special attention to
young workers or the unemployed, fostering their reception and protagonism,
adopting a methodology that facilitates their integration into the environment,
and offering initiatives that respond to the needs they feel most.
Employment training initiatives, aid for self-employment, work grants and
similar initiatives have sprung up in various places.
3 3 SALESIAN PEDAGOGY
Salesian VTC achieves its goals with Don Bosco’s method and style of
education:
“This system - writes Don Bosco in the first paragraphs of the 1877
Booklet on ‘The Preventive System in the Education of Youth’ - is
all based on reason, religion and loving kindness. Because of this
it excludes every violent punishment and tries to do without even
mild punishments.”
Its educational system (Preventive System) is based above all on three pillars,
closely interrelated, deeply integrated with each other, both in the aims and
contents, as well as in the means and methods: Religion (the anthropological
openness to the existence of the transcendent and the search for God), Reason
(the rationality that guides minds and consciences with the clarity of ideas
and truths, never through suggestion or moral or psychological violence)
and Loving-kindness (the affective relational style), which are manifested in
cheerfulness, work, spirit of sacrifice and loving one another as in a family.
The experience of the following aspects offers the typical trait of our
educational centers:
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◗◗ Animating, orienting and coordinating in an Oratorian way, making
the institution a family where young people have “their home” (cf.
Const. 40), a welcome in a place where one feels good and where
one perceives the meaning of what one does;
◗◗ Emphasizing the personalization of educational relationships, based
on trust, dialogue and the presence-assistance of the educators
among the youth in some significant spaces (the courtyard, the
workshop, the good morning or good afternoon talk, social
gatherings, cultural visits, Salesian festivals or events);
◗◗ Taking care of balance, moderation, rationality of regulations, prescriptions,
interpersonal relations, constantly motivated and integrated by the
requirements and encouragement of the educator who is actively present;
◗◗ Taking on the integrality of young people’s lives, making the educators
participate in youth interests, and promoting leisure activities such as
theater, sports, music, and art in an educational environment of familiarity;
◗◗ Preparing them to responsibly take an active role in family life and
civil society.
Lastly, learning is also strongly influenced by the state of emotional well-being:
the affectivity/intelligence relationship acts in continuous interaction whenever
this connection is dominated by fear (of not being worthwhile, of not being
loved, of not making it, of not being understood, of being deceived...) there
is an unproductive blocking of rational abilities, of the ability to decide, to take
initiatives. It is important that the young person has, from the very beginning, the
feeling that he or she will not be alone in moments of confusion and uncertainty
but can count on the support of Salesian formators (see YML, Chapter 6).
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SOCIAL FUNCTION AND ATTENTION
TO THOSE MOST IN NEED
“Let the Salesian school be for the poorest people: this should be
reflected in its setting, culture, curriculum and choice of students.
Organize services to the people of the area, such as cultural and
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professional training, literacy and remedial programs, scholarship
funds and other initiatives.” (Reg. 14).
School programs are open to collaboration with businesses with other
partners or agencies. Educators accompany the integration of young
people into reality, in collaboration with related educational/training
institutions and agencies. The full integration of young people into their
environment and their assumption of responsibility represent a goal
of the process of holistic education in the Salesian VTC. Our VTCs aim
to contribute to the building of a more just and humane society. To
accomplish this:
◗◗ they seek to establish themselves in the most popular areas and give
preference to the inclusion and equal opportunities of the young
people most in need;
◗◗ they denounce any discriminatory conditions or realities of exclusion;
◗◗ they give preference to the criterion of accompanying everyone over
that of selecting the best;
◗◗ they promote a systematic social formation of their members;
◗◗ they give priority to the fair inclusion and smooth integration of young
people into the world of work, seeing them improve their quality of
life and receive educational support for professional advancement
while maintaining systematic contact with the business world;
◗◗ they become centers of animation and cultural and educational
services for the betterment of the environment, privileging those
curricula, specializations and carefully designed programs that meet
the needs of young people in the locality;
◗◗ they demonstrate closeness and solidarity, with the availability of the
people and premises, the provision of promotional services open to
all, and collaboration with other educational and social institutions;
◗◗ they promote a significant presence in the world of alumni so
that they can be actively and purposefully included in the cultural,
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
educational and professional dialogue taking place in the area and
the local Church.
As we have stated, the purpose of our educational intervention is not only to
prepare young people for work but also to make them fit to carry out their
vocation with dignity and thus to collaborate in the transformation of
society. This objective requires us to set certain priorities in the educational
programs of Vocational Training Centers, such as the centrality of the
human person over the economy, preferential attention to the weakest and
most vulnerable in the pursuit of the good of the community, safeguarding
the dimension of “solidarity citizenship” over the overwhelming power of
profit, professionalism lived out in terms of personal and professional skills,
and the promotion of equitable models of development that prevent the
widening gap of inequalities in the system.
35
A WELCOMING ENVIRONMENT IN MULTICULTURAL
AND MULTIRELIGIOUS CONTEXTS
As Salesian VTCs have been established in different contexts to provide
education and training for all young people, this extends to non-Catholic
and non-Christian contexts; still others in multicultural and multiethnic
societies. But even in some non-Christian countries, young people choose
the Salesian VTC because it is a good environment that certainly teaches
values and discipline in addition to its educational and vocational standards.
Salesian VTC is becoming a beacon of diversity and inclusion.
By welcoming students of different cultures and faiths, the Salesian VTC
familiarizes them with different perspectives which is an essential step in
the development of their morality. Such a welcoming environment allows
multicultural and Christian humanism-based interactions that can lead to
a broader worldview, the development of certain attitudes such as respect,
compassion, responsibility, personal integrity and friendship (which are
genuinely evangelical values), an appreciation of the beauty of life and
even a deeper understanding of one’s own faith. It is possible to respect
and promote the faith of non-Catholic students without “watering down”
the Catholic faith for all those who are interested.
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Salesian educators in these contexts must be prepared to deal not
only with the students but also with the cultural and religious
challenge that the students we face, both as citizens and as
believers. Even some non-Catholic educators can be integrated
into the teaching staff, thanks to their educational and vocational
expertise and their desire to fulfil the mission.
Therefore, the formation of lay educators on the Preventive System and
Salesian Youth Spirituality must be carefully programmed and implemented.
When Salesian VTCs welcome non-Christian students and respond to
their needs, they plant seeds of faith through their identity and values of
Christian humanism that permeate students’ experiences. Proselytism has
no place in the educational environment because it is proof of counter-
witness. Educators who treat non-Christian students with respect and
care have a wonderful opportunity to model their Christian faith through
life witness and the explicit and timely proclamation of the Word (initial
proclamation). For young people, whether they admit it or not, possess
this hunger for something deeper within them and realize that they are
seeking God or that God is patiently seeking them.
VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
THE ORGANIC PASTORAL
ANIMATION OF THE SALESIAN
VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
CHAPTER
IV
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“In each professional house an exhibition of the work done by our students
should be made annually on the occasion of the distribution of prizes, and
every three years a general exhibition should be made in which all our
artisan houses take part.” (“Address to be given to the workers’ part in
Salesian Houses,” from the Deliberations of the Fourth General Chapter
of the Pious Salesian Society 1886 - it was the last one held under Don
Bosco’s presidency).
4 1 MAIN INTERVENTIONS OF THE PROPOSAL
❖ In the Salesian tradition, people, time, space, relationships, teaching,
study, work, and all other activities interact in a climate of serenity, joy, and
commitment: this is the educational environment.
In addition to attention to the duties of study, research and work, it is
educationally important to obtain respect and care for the tools, equipment
and premises (welcoming, healthy and clean places and spaces) in which
school and professional life take place, as an expression of belonging.
It is necessary to qualify educational relationships on the basis of the
adequacy of needs, the appreciation of daily life and educational
accompaniment. The courtyard is an inevitable and central factor for this.
It is not just a place for activities and initiatives but is set up as a time for
building personal relationships starting with animation, games, and sports.
The Salesian courtyard is an educational space rich in meaning
in which diverse interactions take place. The Salesian “educational
presence” in the courtyard is an authentic educational action
that creates welcoming and listening conditions that allow young
people to develop independently and exercise their freedom.
Experiencing complete togetherness outside school is very different
from being together in a classroom or workshop. After these
experiences, the young people feel better about themselves, each
other and their teachers.
Each Salesian VTC is called upon to safeguard the times and spaces set
aside for students to meet spontaneously. The EPC makes sure that young
people are assisted in this space in the spirit of Don Bosco.
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
Indeed, the discovery and revelation of one’s own self can only take place
in a context in which one feels welcome and accepted as one is. If this
premise is lacking, the young person with low self-esteem will continue
to present himself according to stereotypes and external conditions which
exclude the possibility of developing spontaneously and authentically as
well as defining personal goals that correspond to his own life project.
Salesian Vocational Training is, therefore, a highly “personalized” formation,
where each and every person has the space to realize his or her own life
by developing an autonomous personality and critical and independent
thinking.
Each VTC encourages the building of a safe and welcoming community
that readily addresses problems of bullying and cyberbullying, demotivation,
isolation, depression, or any other mental health problem.
In today’s complex environment, the educational environment must
provide guidance on the proper use and management of technology
and social media to build healthy virtual connections while
continuing to foster real-life interpersonal relationships.
❖ Salesian education places young people at the center of its educational
and evangelizing activity. The pedagogical style, which flows from the
desired environment, is relational and therefore requires the active and
animating presence of the educator. Don Bosco’s words, “It is not enough
to love the young, it is necessary for them to know that they are loved,”
have a strong impact on the educational apostolate. Salesian educators
adopt “loving kindness” as a fundamental style in dealing with young
people, especially those who are “unlovable.” As a result, young people
value the friendships formed during their formation in a Salesian VTC.
Salesian VTC upholds the maxim that “education takes place always
and everywhere,” in any place and at any time. This is why “Salesian
assistance” is a hallmark of Don Bosco’s pedagogy. It is an animating
presence that goes beyond the boundaries of physical space and “office
hours.”
Traditionally it takes place on the playground, in the classroom, in
workshops, in the theater, etc. In the digital age, Salesian assistance and
accompaniment take place beyond the boundaries of physical space, that
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is, the “presence” and influence accompanying the Salesian educator can
take place in social networks.
Young people who study in the Salesian VTC are often attracted
to the familiar environment they encounter. In the animation of
EPCs, it is important that educators are increasingly willing to
have personal encounters with students. Taking into account
the different stages of student development, the educators in
each sector should provide quality spaces and times for personal
encounters with the students for a discussion about the progress
made by each one and the proposals to be indicated.
All educators should be available for personal dialogue, but some of
them should devote special attention to this service to young people. A
mentoring program can be established in which educators involve qualified
members of the Salesian Family to accompany the students. And while
psychological guidance is an important service to be rendered to students,
Salesians can make themselves available for personal accompaniment.
❖ The organized contents of various disciplines are offered as
knowledge to be acquired, truths to be discovered, techniques to be
mastered, answers to deep questions, and values to be assimilated.
Contributing to this is the clarity of knowledge, the pedagogical approach,
and above all the fundamental cultural ideas that are transmitted.
In this formative sense, multi-year courses achieve better results than one-
year courses. In this sense, vocational training shouldn’t be “reduced,”
aimed solely at facilitating a quick entry into the labor market without
acquiring a differentiated repertoire of skills (not only vocational and
scientific knowledge but also ethical, social and cultural perspectives).
This means, on the one hand, emphasizing the human experience that
underlies the various disciplines, helping young people to grasp, appreciate
and assimilate the values inherent in the facts presented and explored;
and, on the other hand, keeping an open interest in universal culture, in
contact with the expressions of different peoples and with the patrimony
of values shared by humanity.
In the Salesian VTC, educators activate formative programs that are rich
in the contributions of Christian and Salesian humanism and relate to
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
the central nodes of the maturation of young people: the formation of
conscience, education to love, socio-political education, education in the
care for creation and, in particular, religious formation. In the current
context of VTCs, the well-designed curriculum needs to be complemented
by practical and project-based learning opportunities that help students
solve problems in real-life situations.
The exhibition of final projects at the end of the training year
is a very common practice. Organizing such events significantly
increases the motivation of students and also becomes beneficial
from the point of view of learning i.e. educational success. The
teachers go to great lengths, even if it means a lot of extra work.
They do so willingly because they often receive positive feedback.
❖ For Don Bosco, Salesian education is a matter of the heart; it goes beyond
a “rigid” teaching method. An effective teaching method seeks the good of
each person and the means to bring out the best in them. For this reason,
we choose the personalization of proposals and mutually enriching
collaboration as our teaching-educational method. Sometimes young
people who opt for vocational training come with different motivations
(the practicality of the course, a weak desire to study, repeated failures in
training, the possibility of working soon) and the trainers make them the
architects of their own destiny by discovering abilities, especially manual
skills, that others had failed to bring out.
These active didactics, based on the use of inductive method, develop
in students the capacity for discovery, taking into account their level
and pace of learning, and mature habits of creativity and autonomous
cultural growth; an interdisciplinary approach in which different areas of
the disciplines offer complementary contributions; and the evaluation of
students’ development processes, their learning and research skills through
regular constructive feedback and not just by looking at the final results.
Educational methods and tools (discipline, regulations, organisation of the
educational community, interventions by the educator) must be inspired by
common sense, simplicity, functionality and attention to diversity.
In this regard, the issue of adherence to rules must be
discussed: Rules are the boundary line that demarcates appropriate
behavior from inappropriate behavior, but more importantly, send
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a message of clarity and restraint. The acquisition of rules goes
hand in hand with the acquisition of self-confidence and a student’s
recognition of his or her own worth. Unfortunately, the process
of appropriation is neither obvious nor simple; the authoritative
qualities of the educators and their flexibility in allowing young
people to experience some transgressions become crucial.
❖ Holistic education requires the completion of the academic-vocational
program with other freely chosen complementary programs and
activities that support them. The Salesian VTC gives ample space to
leisure and recreational activities (art, recreation, sports, culture), tending
to become a full-time school as well.
The Salesian VTC makes room for different groups (study-research,
cultural, recreational, artistic, community service, volunteer, Christian
growth, vocational guidance or Christian commitment), and promotes and
accompanies them, recognizing in them a privileged mediation of education
and evangelization. Some VTCs offer workshops on practical life skills, such
as financial literacy, media education, and health/wellness programs. Some
VTCs provide opportunities for informal gatherings, lounges, music rooms,
etc. Specific times for participation in such activities should be included in
annual planning.
One of the pillars holding up the identity of Salesian VTCs is the clear
and organic articulation of explicitly evangelizing interventions. The
educational-pastoral proposal is translated into experiences and activities
that are dear to the Salesian tradition:
◗◗ the peculiar and synthetic moment of the dynamics of reflection
and self-education is the “Good Morning,” short daily encounters
arranged for the entire community or groups, inspired by the “Good
Night” talk practiced by Don Bosco in his life experience with boys
at Valdocco. The “Good Morning” is a time of prayer and wise
reading of life with a view to a progressive assumption of a Christian
judgment of events;
◗◗ formative and spiritual experiences are offered to both staff and
students throughout the school year. Carried out preferably during
the strong times of the liturgical year, they are favorable times for
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growth in faith and evaluation of one’s life in light of the Christian
message;
◗◗ faithful to when Don Bosco lived with the boys at Valdocco, each
VTC proposes explicit moments of prayer and celebration. Students
belonging to other Christian denominations or other religions may
also participate in the said activities as opportunities for cultural
integration and knowledge of the religious tradition of the nation in
which they live. The Eucharist and celebrations of liturgical seasons
or local devotions are an integral part of the educational-pastoral
proposal. Special attention should be paid to times for the celebration
of the Sacrament of Reconciliation according to an appropriate
schedule, provided for in the planning of annual formative activities;
◗◗ times of gathering and celebration should be provided as occasions
for the expression of recognition and education on shared
responsibility and belonging. Families and the various components
of the EPC should be actively involved in the organization and
implementation of some of these initiatives. Special emphasis should
be given to the celebration of Salesian feasts, moments of growth in
family spirit and gratitude.
Encounters between students from different VTCs at the
provincial, national, regional or world levels can be a source of
enrichment to broaden their perspectives and worldviews. These
encounters can take the form of exchange programs or other
gatherings involving technical exhibitions, cultural presentations,
sports competitions, team building, formation in Salesian youth
spirituality, and religious experiences. If the objectives for this type
of program are set, the activities organized and the experiences
reflected upon, this encounter will prove to be an effective
celebration of Salesian education.
Even when students have graduated from our VTCs, continuous
accompaniment during the period of their immediate departure from
the institutions would lead them to gradually live their lives after Salesian
education.
It is part of the Salesian tradition to maintain contact with Salesian Past
Pupils, the young people who have attended our VTCs. It is necessary to
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find the best ways to involve them as individuals and as a group. In some
countries, in fact, Salesian VTCs have begun to follow up with their alumni
in the 24-36 months after graduation to ensure good job opportunities for
them and to keep them close to the Salesian environment.
❖ Our educational vocation invites us to think carefully about the impact
that a systematic experience of failure can have and to ask ourselves, as
educators, the following question: “How can I help this student to have
a successful experience? What can educational success mean for him?"
The success or failure of Salesian education also depends on the willingness,
readiness and ability of Salesian educators to facilitate, accompany and
implement programs and activities. Hence, the urgency and importance
of continuing formation.
Indeed, the formation and updating of teachers are great opportunities
for every educational institution and those who work in it. The current
context demands that our Salesian VTCs provide ongoing teacher training
that accompanies teachers throughout their professional lives.
Within Vocational Training Centers it is sometimes necessary to plan for
retraining with a view to learning new skills and/or retraining with a view
to planning a new set of qualifications.
Opportunities for exchange programs (both nationally and internationally):
a wide range of activities are supported, including job shadowing and
professional development courses for staff, traineeships and long-term
placements, invited experts, and other activities. All these professional
development programs form the Salesian educators to be animators and
facilitators of learning rather than mere instructors.
There is a need for training and updating of our teachers - not only with
regard to teaching methods and their disciplines - that will qualify their
professionalism in the Salesian school, according to a formation project
that combines faith, science and life. Therefore, the formation of teachers
should ensure a pedagogically effective professionalism; a qualified
Salesian educational style; a Christianly lived spirituality; a humanly rich
and welcoming personality. Greater attention to the educational pastoral
care of the specific dynamics of the school is desired in their formation.
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VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
Local or provincial initiatives that respond to a provincial plan
for teacher formation be regularly scheduled, with special
care given to the formation of newly hired teachers. Those
entering Salesian Professional Education for the first time are
offered content and methodological support specific to this area,
according to the SEPP.
These courses, days of reflection and formation, in which Salesian VTC
teachers are required to participate, will involve them in a journey that
includes knowledge of Don Bosco and the Preventive System. There will
also be an exchange of the practical aspects inherent in methodology and
teaching in the Salesian tradition.
❖ All the indicated elements and interventions that make up the VTC must
be integrated into the broader and overall SEPP, according to the legislative
provisions issued by the Governments. The SEPP pastoral planning
expresses, shapes and defines the identity of the institution, making explicit
the Gospel values that inspire it, and translating them into precise and
operational terms. The SEPP is the criterion for all choices and interventions
(curriculum, choice of teachers and textbooks, lesson plans, evaluation
criteria and procedures). It distinguishes the pastoral intentionality that
animates the entire EPC, which is decisive in all elements and articulations
of VTC. It is the conscience that guides the EPC in achieving its goals,
evaluating its efforts and seeking further improvements.
As educational institutions, our Salesian centers fit into a historical context
and are defined by national laws that determine the system of organization
and teaching, routinely recognizing and approving our goals and objectives
for the VTC, our principles and values that characterize them.
The SEPP is our “identity card.” It presents the charism that
inspires our educational offerings (the original motivation must
continue to enlighten our work today); the concept of holistic
education; the EPC as our model of educative community; the
values of reference; the educational method and the preferred
options in any given circumstance.
The identity of our Salesian VTC as established in the local SEPP will,
therefore, constitute a common educational program for all students and
all classes. The SEPP, which explicitly lays out evangelizing interventions in
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pastoral planning, is fully consistent with the culture of the educational
curriculum (educational and didactic choices in general); it is also consistent
with the broader extracurricular and organizational offerings, together
with the managerial proposals (formation programs, activities, educational
initiatives, organization and management of structures, personnel and
resources of the school). Pastoral activity is not isolated but permeates the
entire educational work.
❖ All the various components of the EPC, therefore, endeavor to realize
the main contents of Salesian pedagogy in today’s world. This is all the
more true for those who, by virtue of their role, function and capacity,
are called to the service of leadership of the institutes-centers. The
areas in which this educational leadership could best be realized concern:
◗◗ the management of human resources (selecting people, developing
their capabilities, planning personal and organizational goals,
organizing roles, tasks and functions);
◗◗ the guidance of people (valuing, encouraging, increasing their
motivational level, orienting, supporting);
◗◗ the formation of people (at the professional, human, Salesian and
Christian levels).
But there is also a second level that aims to ensure that things work
well inside the organization. The selection of personnel, the economic
management of the Center, the management of human resources according
to a specific organizational chart, the acquisition of economic and financial
resources, the distribution of these resources on the minimal operation of
the Center and pedagogical and didactic innovation, the maintenance of
the administrative, managerial, regulatory, technological and didactic back
office, the dissemination of the image of the Center in the territory, the
contact with other VTCs, parents, social services among others, are some
of the main leadership actions at this level of the organization.
The management of economic resources, property and
equipment must be carried out per the guidelines of the province
and with due administrative transparency. The Vocational
Training Centers document the amounts following the applicable
regulations and keep records of training activities.
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4 2 THE STRUCTURES OF PARTICIPATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Local Animation
The structures of participation and shared responsibility are designed
to create ideal conditions for ever-greater communion, sharing and
collaboration between the different components of the EPC. The aim is to
implement conscientiously the Educative and Pastoral Project and to see
growth in collaboration between teachers, students and parents. These
structures vary according to countries and different school legislations.
This is why every Province should define the concrete and appropriate
organization procedures, internal functioning and responsibilities in its
VTCs, keeping in mind the following elements:
◗◗ first, the EPC Council for the VTC (or another appropriate term),
in accordance with the provisions of each Province, is the body
that animates and orients all Salesian activities through reflection,
dialogue, planning and review of all educational-pastoral action (QR,
Chapter VIII, n.2.1/d);
◗◗ secondly, the teaching body is responsible for the planning of
educational guidelines in terms of proposal, discussion, decision and
evaluation in accordance with the SEPP. Every VTC also ensures that the
teaching body has certain structures: commissions (or teams or working
groups) and departments (or different disciplines) with a view to the
planning, programming and implementation of educational initiatives;
◗◗ finally, the Pastoral Team, headed by the pastoral coordinator,
provides leadership for evangelizing activities, by taking care of its
deep integration into the teaching and educational process. The
criteria for the composition of this team are defined locally. Some
students are also members of the team (QR, Chapter VIII, no. 6.3/b).
Provincial/National/Regional Animation
The organizational structures provided for Salesian VTCs exist at the
provincial, national and international (or regional) levels. They can be
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civilly recognized legal entities. With clear policies and processes, this
network of cooperation at different levels represents an active presence
in the vocational training system, interacting with the production sector,
public (governmental or civil society) and private institutions for research
and development in vocational training, other social partners (companies
and nongovernmental organizations) and trade unions, as well as with
other national and international bodies interested in educational processes
and labor policies. These structures serve to orient existing and potential
partners in the educational and evangelizing mission of the Salesian VTCs,
which goes in harmony with the building and transformation of society.
VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER (VTC)
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