Ford Otosan, supplier invest in vocational education in Turkey

Sunday, December 26, 2010

GÖKHAN KURTARAN

KOCAELİ - Hürriyet Daily News

Joining forces with local supplier firms, Ford Otosan, the Turkish venture of Ford Motor, has invested 300,000 Turkish Liras into a “3-D coordinate measuring machine and metallurgy laboratory” for a vocational school in Karamürsel in the western province of Kocaeli.

The company aims to meet the increasing demand for qualified workers in the booming Turkish auto industry, Otosan executives said at a press meeting Friday to announce the investment.

Ford Otosan, a Koç Holding subsidiary, launched an award-winning social responsibility campaign and collected donations from Turkish auto supplier firms to open the first “3-D coordinate measuring machine and metallurgy laboratory” at Kocaeli 100. Yıl Vocational School.

“This laboratory has great importance for all players in Turkey’s auto industry,” said Ali Yıldırım Koç, board member of Koç Holding, at the opening ceremony at the laboratory.

The students at the vocational school will have 100 percent job guarantee upon their graduation since technicians in the field are in high demand in the industry, according to Koç.

“Turkish local supplier firms for the automotive sector contributed to the project,” he said.
“The direct relation between the industry and the vocational schools could serve both the automotive sector and the education quality in Turkey, Koç told the journalists.

More than 300 volunteers from Koç Holding serve as professional life coaches for students from many schools in Turkey and 698 students were granted with various scholarships by the holding, he said.

“Nearly 10 years ago, we were seriously in need of inviting foreign technicians to Turkey to operate 3-D coordinate measuring machines and robotic machines,” said Nuri Oktay, general manager of Ford Otosan, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. “With these kinds of laboratories, we could meet the demand for qualified workers,” said Oktay. “We do not need foreign technicians, who cost us more than the actual cost of the machines.”