They say education is the golden gate of freedom and we, at CTE Trailers, want to open as many such gates as possible for Romanian pupils. The Dual School project started out of our desire to guide young people who want something more after graduating from high school: a stable job, an enviable career and a better future.
During the first year of Dual School I met many young people eager both to learn and to acquire skills which will be useful to them in real life. Based on the experience gained in the first year we have developed and improved the Dual School project in order to further support children interested in the program. Thus, in addition to a series of personal development courses focusing on topics of immediate interest to students, such as financial education, career development and their personal development, we also included a remunerated practice program during the summer. We have thus demonstrated that the gates of CTE Trailers are always open to students who want to learn. One such extraordinary child is Robert, one of the students who started high school in a dual system and then continued with the internship during the summer.
Robert was born and raised in a commune in Giurgiu County, Bolintin-Deal. Like other young people his age, he had to choose between household work and field work specific to rural life, and school. With the support of his family, he chose to learn, to acquire a trade that would allow him a better life. He is more than aware of the wrong choices that a young man his age may be tempted to make. Moreover, he also knows of the various poorly paid “summer jobs” that students who want to earn honest money turn to.
As with many others of his age, online plays an important role in Robert’s life. Even before discovering the activities offered by CTE Trailers and the Dual School program, he was passionate about computers and technology.
Thus, he explained to us how he learned to use an operating system similar to Linux to test applications for computers. In the near past he even repaired computers and phones for acquaintances and family, earning some money from this activity. He even shared with us a story about how he surprised his mother when he replaced her phone’s broken screen by himself. When we asked him how he learned these technical skills, Robert told us that he had learned on his own, by watching tutorials on the internet and through a lot of practice. His access to information and need turned him into a self-taught person, simultaneously providing him with an income source.
Talking about the Dual School program, Robert tells us that he finds it very beneficial for young people his age. He enjoys the scholarship received from CTE Trailers, appreciates the fact that he has the opportunity to learn in a friendly environment, with new textbooks and computers, that he combines theory with practice and that in the end he always remains with practically applicable knowledge. At the same time, as one who has had the chance to test the program directly, he wants more high school classmates to choose this path with bright prospects.
During the summer, along with six other colleagues from the CTE Trailers Dual School program, Robert chose to invest his time in himself and took a job at CTE Trailers, with an eight-hour contract, of which they worked six hours, according to the law. For both Robert and the other students, employment contracts were issued for a month or two, according to the wishes and availability of the young.
Concluding, Robert is an example of the fact that a secure future can be built with the right guidance and resources.
In his high school Robert basically became an ambassador for the CTE Trailers Dual State School program, and we hope that more colleagues will follow in his footsteps, realising themselves that the offered benefits are real, palpable and future-proof.
