(ANS – Mumbai) – Don Bosco College Hospitality Studies located in Mumbai offers a three-year training program preparing India’s youth for employment in the tourism and hospitality sectors. The program provides poor and disadvantaged youth in the country a chance to train for a successful career and long-term financial stability in a growing industry.

Access to professional training and workforce development services is important for Indian youth: for poor youth who lack access to education and employable skills training, risk of exploitation in the labour market increases as does the likelihood of their continuing to live in conditions of poverty. In 2012, Salesian missionaries started the Don Bosco College Hospitality Studies (formerly called Don Bosco Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology) which offers degree courses in collaboration with Mumbai University and the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University.

The hospitality studies program includes coursework in food production, food safety and nutrition, beverage service, front office, housekeeping, communication skills and information technology. For those students more focused on the business end of the hospitality industry, coursework in accounting and management is also available through the program.

Students graduating from the hospitality studies program are prepared to enter a growing employment sector and many are successful in finding stable long-term work directly after graduation. Graduates from the program are currently employed at international corporations such as Four Seasons, Grand Hyatt, Jet Airways and JW Marriott, among others.

The success of the program is due to the intense learning environment in the classroom and the extensive hands-on experience students receive while still in the program. Students put their skills and talents to work organizing catered lunches and hosting events.

Don Bosco College also works to give back to the local community through cooking programs for self-help groups for women from the slums of Mumbai. The training provided encourages economic independence and initiates entrepreneurship.

Published 16/06/2015