Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia Scholars: Future Porsche ‘mechatronics’

Marlon Atanoso was already 20 years old when he started high school in Iloilo. After graduation, he worked as a fisherman. A cousin in Manila mentioned a scholarship for a vocational course in Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati. He passed the extrance exam. Four months into the course, he qualified as a scholar of the Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia (PTRCA).

Agapito Basnig, Jr. was also a fisherman in Quezon Province when a fellow choir member informed him of the vocational training in Don Bosco. Believing that only education can save him from poverty, he traveled to Manila and enrolled in a mechanical training course. After three months, he also became one of the Porsche scholars. He knew nothing about cars before that.

For two years, Christopher Coo bummed around after graduating high school in Laguna. Financial problems prevented him from enrolling in college. An aunt encouraged him to get a vocational course in Don Bosco. There, he was chosen as a PTRCA scholar.
Early this week, those young men were among the 16 graduates of the Porsche Training & Recruitment Center Asia in Mandaluyong. Chris delivered the graduate’s address to a group of high-profile guests who were impressed with his language. While in the scholarship program, the graduates were also taught to communicate in English.

The training center is a cooperative endeavor of the Don Bosco Training Institute and Porsche, represented in the Philippines by PGA Cars, sole importer of Porsche vehicles. In the graduation rites were PGA Cars chairman Robert Coyuito Jr.; Herwart Fleischer, Porsche Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. After Sales regional manager; and Fr. Edwin Ulanday, of Don Bosco Makati.

“This is not the end, but a beginning of our new lives which began when we became scholars of the Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia. Through this experience, I became a productive and independent person who now has a better chance to make something of myself,” Chris said.

The stories of the three young men are representative of the lives of many of the scholars who graduated that day as part of the third batch of “mechatronics,” or students who graduated from the Porsche Center.

The training facility, which began in April 2008, is the first of its kind outside of Germany. The program provides training and financial support to underprivileged but deserving Filipino youths to improve their skills and capabilities in the field of automobile repair.

Every year, Porsche aims to help 30 young men and women to receive specialized training in automotive mechanics. During its first year, Porsche produced 32 ‘mechatronics.’ The third batch is composed of 16 students.
The scholars will receive theory and practical work for 10 months in Don Bosco, and additional six months of specialized Porsche training at the Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia. All PTRCA scholars were taught by Porsche Asia Pacific technical training manager, Thorsten Hagel.

“We at Porsche discovered that our Filipino scholars are not only exceptionally skilled, but also very enthusiastic to learn. Everyone was willing to prove something to themselves and to their families, and we believe that they will go a long way. We hope that they will be able to use their Porsche training to their advantage,” said Hagel.
Aside from the course, the PTRCA scholars also received English and communication lessons to further prepare them for their future roles as technicians. The Porsche graduates are given the opportunity to be employed in Porsche Centers.

Basnig for example, is already waiting for his chance to fly to Qatar and work at the Porsche Center there.

“I never thought I will be able to get the chance to work abroad, but thanks to our training, not only do I get the chance to land a better job, I now have the skills and attitude to make it in another country,” he said.

More than the technical skills and the opportunity, most of the graduates are thankful for the chance of learning from PTRCA, the right attitude that will help them in life.
“We learned that everyone has the chance to a better life. We also discovered how important it is to continue learning, to never be afraid to ask questions, to put importance to teamwork, and to always be thankful of every opportunity that comes our way,” said Atanoso.

Source: Manila Bulletin