Wednesday, August 08, 2007 Firm taps school to create labor pool
TO ensure a steady supply of competent workers, a growing number of industry players have established links with the academe.
One of them is Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation Inc. (TMPFI).
To cope with the rise in demand for automotive technicians in Cebu, TMPFI collaborated with the College of Technological Sciences (CTS)-Cebu in the opening of the latter’s Bachelor of Science in Automotive Technology (BSAT) program.
“We guarantee employment for all BSAT graduates,” said TMPFI education section head Ronald Gaspar.
He said Toyota Philippines alone needs about 100 to 200 automotive technicians to fill its 30 dealerships nationwide.
Industry-academe linkage has become the trend in ensuring job opportunities for graduates while at the same time guaranteeing competent workers to work for the industry, he said.
“The problem of the graduates is that when they finish school, they have nowhere to go. But through the BSAT, what we train, we employ, so there’s no job mismatch,” Gaspar said.
In an interview with news reporters during the launching of BSAT program in CTS-Cebu yesterday, Gaspar said Toyota will provide the academe the necessary equipment like automotive parts, engine simulators, technical books, and faculty training in Toyota plants.
CTS-Cebu, on the other hand, is tasked to provide a steady supply of students.
Important skill
Under a baccalaureate program in automotive technology, students spend 60 percent of their time on theories and 40 percent for on-the-job training in Toyota service centers.
The most important skill to become a globally competitive automotive technician is mastery and discipline of the craft, Gaspar said.
“Even the tightening of a bolt needs science,” he said.
CTS president Jose Mari Bigornia said that in the first year, students will take the auto mechanic course, which cost P58,000 for 12 months, and then proceed for a Certificate of Automotive Technology (CAT).
“They can immediately start working even with a CAT,” he said.
But for those intending for a baccalaureate degree, students will have to undergo another year in the program.
Gaspar advised students to proceed with a BSAT where “overseas employment opportunities are higher.”
Bigornia said CTS-Cebu is targeting to fill two sections with 50 students each under the BSAT program which will open in October this year.
It has gained the approval of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda).
More opportunities
While he admitted that opening the BSAT course was a risk, considering the people’s lack of knowledge about the automotive industry, Bigornia is optimistic there would be better employment opportunities for graduates.
“It’s industry that demands it now,” he said.
Automotive technicians, he said, can put up their own automotive shop, work in car companies, or scale up and work in marine vessels, among others.
Meanwhile, Ched 7 Director Enrique Grecia lauded the efforts made by Toyota and CTS-Cebu calling it “the most ideal relationship.”
“If a lot of institutions can come up with partnerships like this, there will be no back-log in our employment capabilities,” he said.
Grecia said the BSAT program is the first in the Philippines and “a new concept in education,” which caused some reluctance on Ched to approve the program due to lack of clear-cut policies.
Tesda-Cebu provincial director Mariflor Liwanag said with the economy is growing and with the entry of more multinational car companies introducing new car models, more employment prospects await local automotive technicians. (MMM)
