Auto Mechanic Training Scholarship Stories

Auto Mechanic Training Scholarship Stories – In her column Road Sense, Pinky Concha Colmenares wrote an article about the scholarships that gave auto mechanic trainings for poor youths in the Visayas region. Scholarships are not only taken by boys but also by the girls. Here’s a scholarship story that gives a chance to make dreams come true. Read on…

Auto mechanic training, a chance to make dreams come true

Yoshinori Ida is a very busy man. As chairman of Isuzu Motors Limited of Japan, he is involved in the operations of one of the top automotive manufacturing companies in the world. Every six months for two years now, he makes time to go to Tacloban, Leyte. His mission is not for leisure; it is a mission from the heart, specifically from the “Heart and Smile” corporate social responsibility program of Isuzu Japan.

Mr. Ida and his wife Mikiko were in Tacloban again two weeks ago to visit the same place that they have both seen from the start – the TESDA Auto Mechanic Training Center funded by Isuzu Motors of Japan. There, the couple have become the unofficial “father and mother” of 75 young men and women aged from 16 to 24, all coming from the poorest provinces of the country. This time, they were there for the Recognition Day of the top students and the Welcome Ceremonies for the new batch of 25 scholars.

“I am here every six months to evaluate the success of the project. These scholars are not only being trained to give Isuzu manpower but for the whole Philippine auto industry. In fact, they will in the future be very good assets for the local auto industry,” he said.

The training center is funded by a $2.5-million donation from Isuzu Japan. A big part of that went to the construction of the facilities in the compound, such as the two-story workshop with a 1,659 sqm space for what they call the “learning resource centers.” A 160-bed dormitory occupies 390 sqm of the compound. Other structures there now are a cafeteria and a 1,080 sqm multi-purpose center. Inside the training shops is a complete set of basic training tools and equipment required for the training of automotive servicing for a national competency level of one to four. (Most auto training centers only provide up to level two.) They are trained to service and maintain all car brands in the market.

Although the first grant would only fund up to three and a half years of operation (which will end by next semester), Mr. Ida said: “We intend to support this project for as long as Isuzu is here, not only up to the fifth batch.”

The support of Isuzu Japan will make more dreams of a better life come true. According to Emmanuel Garcia, who heads the TESDA auto training center in Tacloban, all the scholars come from the poorest provinces – Masbate, Camotes Island in Cebu, Occidental Mindoro, Leyte and Samar. The students are not necessarily gifted in automotive subjects but it is the prospect of free education and a better future that attracted them to apply for the program.
Yniezza Nina Mosot, 18, the top student of NC III, said she was just curious about the automotive engine because she drove a motorcycle in Pintoyan town in Southern Leyte. A tarpaulin announcement of the scholarship program that was posted on the wall of her house drew her to apply. She topped the written exams and the interviews in her batch. This time, she was number one student in her batch.

“I achieved one of my goals – to top the class!” she said when she went on stage to be given the citation. The petite teenager who looked too fragile to be in a male-dominated job, had already overhauled an engine, as well as done other maintenance work on other parts of the vehicle. Earlier, she told me that she dreams of having her own mechanic shop so that she could help her siblings.

Another scholar, Rojey Garcia, 18, of Masbate, said he had no interest in the automobile before he joined the program. “I just wanted to go to school,” he told us. When he was accepted in the program, he resolved to make the job his career so that he can be a good auto technician. His dream: To work abroad so he can help his four siblings.

The president of Batch 4, Anselmo Saguibo, echoed what the scholars felt: “We are proud to be part of this project and we are ready to excel in this field!”
Excel, they will, starting with the jobs that will come their way. On August 4 and 5, the center will hold an “open house” for jobs. Mr. Garcia said the first day will be for Isuzu companies to interview scholars for their job requirements. On the second day, other car manufacturers will interview and hire the graduating scholars.

The importance of the auto mechanic training project was perhaps best said by the presence of the busy Japanese executives. Mr. Keiji Takeda, former Isuzu Philippines Corp., flew in from Tokyo just to attend the Recognition Day ceremonies. Mr. Takeda, who is now IML associate division executive, left his post in the Philippines only in March this year, was there when the auto mechanic training center started in 2008.

Mr. Ryoji Yamazaki, IPC president, was also in the event, getting away from a busy schedule in Metro Manila. He assumed the presidency in April 1.
When busy people like those executives drop everything to attend a recognition day of scholars in a city in the Visayas, indeed we know that the gesture is from the heart. In Isuzu Japan, that comes under the “Heart and Smile” program.