MANILA, Philippines - Since 2008, the Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia (PTRCA) has been teaching underprivileged Filipino youth to become “mechatronics”, or elite technical specialists for Porsche vehicles. More importantly, these young scholars – more than 250 of them, as of last count – often end up as successful in developed markets, thus giving them the income and opportunity to support their families at home.
The PTRCA began when Robert Coyiuto Jr., chairman & CEO of PGA Cars Inc., observed that his local technicians were often being pirated internationally. “I discussed with a member of the Porsche AG board the possibility of setting up a training school in the Philippines, because our technicians were highly sought-after worldwide,” he recalled.
Fortunately, Porsche AG was impressed by the practicality and potential of Coyiuto’s brainchild and thus the PTRCA was born. “We are proud to be the very first training facility of Porsche outside of Germany, and remain fully committed to invest in the future of our underprivileged youth,” Coyiuto further emphasized.
The development of PTRCA to PTRCA 2.0 with the new cooperation partners means that many more young FIlipinos will be accepted in the training program. The brands Audi and Volkswagen have now become new cooperation partners in this initiative. Photos by MIKE AMOROSO