New batch of Pinoy Porsche "mechatronics" set for deployment to Middle East, Latin America

MANILA, Philippines - It was a night of paying tribute, and looking forward to a beckoning, bright future.

The Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia, in cooperation with PGA Cars, Inc., Porsche AG, Porsche Asia Pacific, and Don Bosco Technical Institute, presented its latest batch of graduates – 10 of them – now certified Porsche “mechatronics.” They are set to enter the pool of experts that provide the worldwide Porsche Center network with “world-class after-service personnel that can support Porsche’s growth in vehicle sales and increasing demand for quality service.”

PGA Cars, Inc. chairman Robert Coyiuto, Jr., in a speech at the opening of the recent commencement exercises said that the establishment of the Porsche Training and Recruitment Center in Asia is the “first of its kind in the world.”

Coyiuto continued, “Unlike other car companies which simply provide equipment and financial support, Porsche has gone further by providing opportunities to young underprivileged Filipinos. It is our way of giving back to the community, by providing comprehensive training, and employment under the supervision of the full-time Porsche technical training manager, Thorsten Hagel. He has more than 15 years of experience in Mechatronics – a term coined to represent the “synergetic combination of vehicle mechanics and vehicle electric/electronics.”

Under Hagel, the trainees went through the Porsche-specific training program that runs nine months – building upon basic 10-month training course at the Don Bosco Technical Institute.

Coyiuto said that the certified mechatronics were chosen through “very stringent assessment” parameters based on “attitude, behavior, technical, and communication skills.” The 10 graduates bring the total of graduates to 58 since the program’s inception in 2008.

Hagel, declared Coyiuto in his speech, was more than a trainer. “(He) was a father figure.”

Two graduates took the podium to thank their sponsors, parents, and guardians for the unique opportunity to define their future. Not a few eyes became teary.

PGA Cars, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of the prestigious sportscar brand, along with Audi.

Five of the new Mechatronics are set to be deployed to Porsche centers in the Middle East, with the other five going to Latin America. Members of the previous batches are already posted in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Brunei, and here in the Philippines.

Robert Coyiuto, Jr. was happy to note that their program has been imitated by other car manufacturers and multinational companies – giving valuable training and employment opportunities to deserving individuals who would otherwise not have the chance to realize their dream because of financial constraints.

Underscoring the importance of the event, Porsche executives and employees attended the ceremonies in full force, along with Don Bosco Technical Institute partners. Among other Porsche executives present at the Porsche Center Philippines were Porsche Latin America after sales manager Diego Lopez, and Torsten Klavs, project leader of growing markets qualification and training concept.