ALLIES Authorities establishments and native governments which have partnered with GBF for Iskolar ni Juan had been acknowledged through the tenth anniversary of the challenge on July 23. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Jhan Albert Avila’s story is the stuff informed in lots of tearjerker movies and tv cleaning soap operas.
The second of 9 youngsters, his fundamental schooling was spotty, away from college nearly as usually as he wanted to work odd jobs to reinforce the household revenue. He did handle to get a highschool diploma and even briefly tried to pursue a school schooling whereas working on the identical time.
However working and finding out, he discovered, weren’t a lot simpler in faculty because it was when he was in elementary and highschool. “Within the 4 semesters I used to be in faculty, I used to be usually within the president’s workplace to get his signature on promissory notes so I can enroll within the subsequent semester,” Avila remembers, talking in Filipino.
Then he heard in regards to the Iskolar ni Juan (INJ) program of the Gokongwei Brothers Basis and determined to use. Meals manufacturing large Common Robina Corp. (URC) employed him as a upkeep technician as quickly as he accomplished his coaching. The job enabled him to assist two siblings get faculty levels.
As he rose from plant manufacturing operator to licensed plant material professional and coach, he has been despatched to completely different URC vegetation for company upkeep, and skilled the fun of touring in an airplane for the primary time.
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Avila’s is among the extra dramatic success tales of the five hundred or so younger individuals who had been skilled by way of INJ, which marks its tenth anniversary this yr.
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The flagship technology-vocational scholarship program of the Gokongwei Brothers Basis (GBF), the philanthropic arm of the Gokongwei Group, INJ supplies abilities coaching and employment in URC to underprivileged youth.
Launched in 2014 in partnership with URC, Iskolar ni Juan is a completely backed scholarship grant that covers tuition, transportation, college provides, uniforms, lodging and meals for underprivileged senior highschool graduates and faculty undergraduates between 18 and 28 years previous.
Students are skilled in mechatronics and have the chance to be employed in a URC manufacturing facility upon completion of their coaching.
This system consists of a seven-month tutorial time period and a five-month on-the-job coaching at URC vegetation and different enterprise associates.
SONG OF JOY The most recent batch of Iskolar ni Juan (INJ) graduates carried out an unique track to specific their appreciation on the tenth anniversary of INJ.
Pathway from schooling to employment
Marcia Gokongwei, daughter of the late tycoon John Gokongwei and managing director of the GBF Board of Trustees, explains the muse’s concentrate on schooling. “My father as soon as mentioned, ‘Training is the one solution to save this nation.’ And he believed on this wholeheartedly that he put up the Gokongwei Brothers Basis … for the singular function of pushing this advocacy.”
She provides, “It’s our agency and shared perception that schooling is the important thing to progress.”
Pushed by this dedication, considered one of GBF’s first initiatives is the Technical Coaching Heart (TTC) that has since moved from Pasig Metropolis to its present location in Calamba Metropolis in Laguna. It’s the place INJ grantees are skilled within the abilities wanted by URC vegetation and help teams, utilizing state-of-the-art tools and services by trainors totally licensed by the Technical Training and Abilities Growth Authority.
“This heart is supposed to sharpen technical abilities wanted within the manufacturing business so we are able to stay aggressive globally,” Marcia says. INJ is supposed to supply a pathway from schooling to employment.
Raymund Ganotice, TTC director, provides that INJ college students are skilled not solely in technical abilities, but additionally in life abilities wanted to succeed. “They’re given management and job-readiness workshops to assist them change into employable.”
Arnel Nunez, URC director for company upkeep, says, “INJ students have contributed considerably to our productiveness and effectivity. Every day, our INJ students carry their abilities, experience and unwavering willpower to make sure that our operations run easily and successfully … and their work has a direct affect on the standard and reliability that our prospects have come to belief and rely on. Their contribution extends past the tangible outputs; it’s also in regards to the optimistic vitality and teamwork they convey to the office.”
Excessive affect
INJ’s first decade proved to be a profitable multi-stakeholder advocacy, says Grace Colet, GBF govt director. “As we put together to widen the affect of this program, we need to double our attain to extra college students in want, change extra lives for the higher.”
A major achievement of this system is that a lot of the graduates have opted to stick with URC, though they’re anticipated to work on the firm for less than a yr. Reena Tecson, the corporate’s human sources director, says about 60 % of the employees stayed with URC.
Avila is amongst that 60 %. Safe in his job, the place he continues to rise, he appears to have determined to be firmly anchored to URC whereas pursuing a school schooling to realize his lifelong dream of turning into an engineer. —Contributed