ZwickRoell Academy in India

In 2016, together with the non-profit organization (NPO) Don Bosco Mondo e.V., ZwickRoell AG started a ZwickRoell testing machine operator training program for young people in India. The program's focus is on metals and plastics testing. The objective is to train disadvantaged young people from the poorest backgrounds to become testing machine operators. With the training program, the company provides young people with the know-how to start a professional career and therefore, the opportunity for a better future.

The Salesians of Don Bosco look back on almost 100 years of tradition in vocational training in India. The Don Bosco Tech Campus is located in the middle of one of the poorest districts in southeast Chennai. This is where ZwickRoell Academy originated and began providing these young people with the skills needed to start a career and the opportunity for a brighter future. Together with ZwickRoell AG, Don Bosco now trains young adults from the poorest backgrounds to become testing machine operators.

Together, every year, 12 young men and women learn how to work with complex testing machines and earn their training certification.
Since some of the students have to relocate to Chennai for the training and do not have the financial means, ZwickRoell covers their lodging expenses.

India is one of the most economically interesting and thriving countries. It promises huge career opportunities and a growing industrial labor market, but there are very few opportunities for vocational training. Although there is a national chartered right to an education, social factors such as cast and place of residence still dictate a young person's access to an education. One third of young Indians are unemployed and get by doing odd jobs.

The partnership between Don Bosco and ZwickRoell AG combines our company’s tradition of social commitment with our strength in training highly qualified workers. ZwickRoell rented a building on the Don Bosco campus, renovated it, and equipped it with state-of-the-art materials testing machines. Today, this facility is known as ZwickRoell Academy. Every year, two trainers assist up to twelve young people to qualify as ZwickRoell testing machine operators, thereby giving them the opportunity to build for themselves a life away from poverty.

In addition to being used as a training facility for the ZwickRoell Academy, in the future it will be used as the first ZwickRoell laboratory in India for customer demonstrations and trainings.

"Our Chennai project was created to help youth with hardly any access to skilled training learn a useful skill and based on this, take charge of their own lives. India is a fascinating country. We benefit from our Indian customers and would like to use this project as a way to give back and improve education in India." Dr. Jan Stefan Roell, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, ZwickRoell SE

"By working together, non-profit organizations and companies can achieve a great deal for the future of our youth. Don Bosco Mondo works with companies of all sizes and from various industries that are interested in establishing vocational training opportunities abroad. We provide support through advisement and project management throughout the entire process - from the initial idea until its implementation and evaluation. This way we keep the needs of the companies and of the youth in mind. Our local programs are implemented together with the Salesians of Don Bosco, creating a win-win situation for everyone." Christian Osterhaus, Managing Director of Don Bosco Mondo e.V.