New Don Bosco - GROHE Dual Tech Training Facility opens in the Philippines

GROHE is a brand known around the world as a leading provider of sanitary fittings. But this article is not just about Grohe and its business, it's also about philantrophy and the good news that comes with it!

Father Gaudencio Carandang,Jr. (Rector/TVET Director, Don Bosco)  Michael Mager (Executive Board, Grohe AG), Alpha Ang (General Manager, LWT/Grohe Philippines), Thomas Ossowski (German Ambassador to the Philippines), Father Anthony Paul Bicomong,  Provincial Superior - Don Bosco

As a company a global workforce of around 6,000 people, Grohe  has relied on its brand values of technology, quality, design, and sustainability. Since 2009, they have cooperated with Don Bosco Mondo e.V. with a view to helping young people better their lives. To date some 780 young people in Mumbai, India, have been given the opportunity to start a new life as a result of this collaboration.

And now, this opportunity has reached Philippine shores through the successful GROHE Dual Tech aid project and training facility which has recently launched in Manila-Tondo, Philippines, last October 24, 2015!

Thomas Ossowski (German Ambassador to the Philippines),  Father Anthony Paul Bicomong (Provincial Superior - Don Bosco), Michael Mager (Executive Board, Grohe AG), Father Gaudencio Carandang,Jr. (Rector/TVET Director, Don Bosco), Suzanne Franke (Manager, Corporate Cooperation, Don Bosco Mondo)

Proven Concept in New Location

In addition to quality products, Grohe recognizes that great skills is needed to install a great product. A good product installed improperly will not function well. This project also brought about an increased focus on skilled manpower.

“Today is an important day for all of us. In the six years that have passed since we launched our partnership with Don Bosco Mondo e.V. in India, we have achieved a lot and learned a lot. Our work has borne fruit and demand for our trained and skilled plumbers is huge. We now want to continue this strategy in the Philippines and offer apprenticeships to the young people of Manila-Tondo to give them a genuine chance to earn a living from skilled work. At the same time, our local partners will benefit from the availability of professionally trained plumbers,” said GROHE Management Board member Michael Mager on the occasion of the inauguration.

The inauguration ceremony at the Don Bosco Training Institute was organised jointly by the Salesians of Don Bosco and GROHE together with apprentices from other disciplines of the Don Bosco Youth Center in Manila-Tondo.

Besides the new Plumber Training Programme, the center already offers apprenticeships in other fields, from mechanical and electrical engineering to accounting, home economics and hospitality, as well as milling, turning and welding. The ceremony was attended by guests from the local business and academic communities as well as the German Ambassador, Thomas Ossowski, and representatives of the German Chamber of Foreign Trade.

Grohe Showroom

GROHE Dual Tech

The project aims to enhance the professionalism of the local plumbing trade. To achieve this, GROHE Dual Tech offers a high-quality training programme leading up to NC II qualification. The programme not only supports the apprentices but also addresses the lack of skilled labour while at the same time helping to advance the industry. Direct cooperation with local companies helps young people find employment right after finishing their training, making their future more secure.

“We are happy to offer these new training programmes in Manila-Tondo, a place that is known throughout the world for poverty and adverse living conditions. We give young people the chance to train and enhance their skills in order to compete successfully in the local labour market, to earn their living and to become active members of society," says Christian Osterhaus, Managing Director of Don Bosco Mondo.

The programmes of GROHE Dual Tech in the Philippines are targeted at socially disadvantaged people aged 17 to 25 who are unable to obtain vocational training otherwise.

Courses start twice a year with some 30 participants each and comprise a 12-month apprenticeship at the Training Center including a 6-week internship at a GROHE partner company without any exclusivity contract. With the widely recognised graduation certificates, the young plumbers, after finishing their training, but can apply for a job. 

Kerwin Tan (Account Manager, Projects), Alpha Ang (General Manager), Manfred Kuhn, Michael Mager, Alen Alban, Carlo Malantic, Joralyn Ong, Heide Lopez (Account Manager, Projects), Valerie Suspine (Account Manager, Projects), Mary Ann Rabonza (Specifications Manager)

Quality Training

Besides the annual programmes, GROHE Dual Tech offers short-term training courses for assistant plumbers as well as further training courses comprising customised modules for young employees of construction and plumbing companies. “Train-the-trainer” courses and other targeted measures are organised to assure the quality of these courses. Participating companies benefit from regular visits by GROHE field representatives providing face-to-face advice and support as well as GROHE materials and training aids.

Alen Alban (Country Manager, LWT/Grohe Phils), Father Edwin Ulanday (Provincial Economer, Don Bosco)

Congratulations to Don Bosco Training Institute in Tondo-Manila, Philippines for the inauguration of the GROHE Dual Tech Training Center!