Matters India reporter
Bhopal, Sept. 25, 2019: The Bangalore based Functional Vocational Training Research Society (FVTRS) held its annual Skill Conference and Partners’ Meet 2019 at Bhopal, 24 to 26 September. The meeting was attended by about 100 delegates and inaugurated by Minister of State for Science & Technology of Madhya Pradesh Shri PC Sharma.
Re-elected for a second term last July, president of FVTRS, Salesian Fr V.M. Thomas says, “Of the one lakh thirty five thousand school drop out youth trained, about 90,000 have been placed in jobs and many others are self employed.”
He also claimed that the presence of “100% attendance of the 72 partners at the conference speaks volumes for the excellence, accountability and team work of the staff and, the members of the organisation – FVTRS.”
Fr Thomas did not hesitate to place on record the commitment to duty of the local coordinator of the meeting and FVTRS partner Dr. Shalini Saxena whose mother passed away on the first day of the meeting, and yet she returned today, to receive the minister and ensure all programs go according to schedule.”
Fr Thomas adds, “As President of the organisation, I feel very privileged and humbled [and pray that] many more vulnerable and marginalised youth benefit from FVTRS initiatives.”
FVTRS organises National Partners Meeting (NPM) every year without fail.
“We consider this as an important activity and occasion for FVTRS and its partners to come together and share their experiences, celebrate successes and plan for the future,” says FVTRS president Fr. Thomas.
Fr Thomas adds, “FVTRS sees the NPM as an accompaniment exercise whereby we maintain our regular relationship with our partners whom we consider as our extended hands to reach every [marginalised] person in society.”
“We are also using this occasion to impart relevant inputs for them which are useful to make the interventions more efficient and effective,” says Fr. Thomas pointing out the reason for 100 per cent participation of partners.
The FVTRS is a Non-Profit Organisation promoting vocational skill training since 1993. Based in Bangalore and operating all over the country through partner organisations the focus group has been the school dropout and illiterate youth.