Employability skills workshop for VTC coordinators

📅 February 23, 2016 • 📍 Sahayani Social development Centre

The Sahayini Social Development Centre organized a two-day workshop on “Employability Skills” from February 22–23, 2016, for the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) Coordinators and their co-workers from eight centers. Seventeen participants benefited from this unique opportunity. The workshop was sponsored and conducted by the Quest Alliance team, comprising Mr. Augustine NG, Ms. Carol D’Souza, and Miss Debolina Rakshit. Sr. Magdeline Sequeira, the Director of Sahayini, welcomed the resource people and asked them to introduce themselves. Ms. Carol led an energizer, followed by a drawing activity where participants creatively wrote their names, city, things they like and dislike about the city, and how they envision themselves after five years. Participants then exchanged and shared their drawings with at least five people. They were then asked to write two expectations from the workshop. The afternoon session began with an explanation of Employability Skills. The first semester covers an introductory module, English literacy, Communication skills/Life skills, and IT literacy. In the second semester, students learn Work readiness, Entrepreneurship, and Career planning. Ms. Carol familiarized the group with the Digital Life Skills Toolkit (DLST) for trainers, exploring a sample English literacy lesson on placing a food order in a restaurant, and participants solved a sample test paper based on it, showing enthusiasm to learn more. The second day began with a prayer moment animated by Sr. Magdeline. Ms. Carol reviewed the previous day’s events and asked participants to share their “WOW” moments. This was followed by a PowerPoint presentation on life skills and input on Semester 2. Mr. Augustine Ngatuba then explained their work in Bihar schools and different techniques used to engage drop-out students. A video clipping of the school was highly inspiring. They also provided information on the professional network “Linked in.” Each participant developed a plan to introduce Employability Skills at their respective centers. Mr. Augustine explained online reporting and browsing the link with Quest Online. Sr. Elveera D’Souza proposed the vote of thanks, and all participants expressed gratitude for the input received through the workshop.