Automotive training program empowers underprivileged youth
Aside from free education and accommodation to all trainees, the Isuzu Heart and Smile Project also aims to provide careers in the automotive industry to all graduates
Isuzu, together with World Vision and TESDA, recently commemorated the graduation of the Isuzu Heart and Smile Project’s 19th batch of trainees and welcomed its 23rd batch of trainees at the TESDA Auto Mechanic Training Center in Tacloban, Leyte.
The Isuzu Heart and Smile Project is a program established by Isuzu Motors Limited in partnership with World Vision Development Foundation and TESDA to produce skilled and globally competitive auto mechanics that are ready for employment by the end of the two-year program.
The ceremonies were attended by VIPs from Isuzu Motors Limited led by administration senior executive officer Hirokazu Okubo and Isuzu Shutoken senior executive officer Ryuichi Shibata; World Vision executive director Rommel Fuerte; TESDA VIII regional director Gamaliel Vicente Jr.; TESDA Leyte provincial director Rolando Bade and Tacloban City council member Dr. Elvira Casal.
Sixteen trainees graduated from the Automotive Servicing National Certificate IV course, the highest qualification for Automotive Servicing, and will be deployed to their respective employers after graduation. Among the 16 graduates, 12 will be dispatched to different Isuzu dealerships nationwide, while four will continue their studies at Isuzu Global Service Corporation.
Okubo encouraged the graduates to excel in their work and contribute to the development of the Philippines. More than providing education to youth from the poorest communities in the country, the project also aims to produce globally competitive auto mechanics who will contribute to the further development of the automotive industry in the country.
Apart from sending 16 trainees off to their new life journeys, the event also welcomed a fresh batch of trainees. The 23rd batch of trainees consists of 18 scholars who were carefully selected out of 600 applicants from different areas of the region.
The project has continued despite the pandemic, generating 367 skilled individuals who have completed two-year Automotive Servicing courses since 2008. Aside from free education and accommodation to all trainees, the project also aims to provide careers in the automotive industry to all graduates. The project has a guaranteed 91-percent employment rate, helping alleviate the unemployment and underemployment rates in the country. Follow Isuzu Philippines on Facebook to get regular updates on the