This latest installment of the program, and the third in Ethiopia, is based out of Mekelle at the Don Bosco Poly Technic College, which operates under the Technical Vocational Education and Training Center (TVET). IVECO will provide the institution and its professors with the practical equipment, tools and training to offer a certified course that will qualify young trainees for a future career in the automotive sector.
Supporting local communities around the world is one of the core areas through which CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI /MI: CNHI) approaches Sustainability, a field in which it is recognized as a global leader in its industry. One example of this approach is the TechPro2 technical youth training program, which first launched globally within CNH Industrial in 2011. It fosters the professional and social development of young people by providing them with advanced technical training to give them the skills and tools they will need for a bright future.
Together with its programme partner, Fondazione Opera Don Bosco, a non-profit organization based in Milan, Italy, the Company hosted the opening of a new programme on May 30 at the at the Don Bosco Poly Technic College in Mekelle, Ethiopia. The event saw representatives from CNH Industrial, IVECO, the local distributor AMCE and the Salesians of Don Bosco welcome members of local government, media and students to the inauguration of this important educational initiative for the community.
AMCE – Automotive Manufacturing Company of Ethiopia Share Company – is a Joint Venture between IVECO S.p,A. (70%) and the Ethiopian Government, which was founded in 1970 (30%). AMCE currently undertakes the assembly of IVECO Trucks, Trailers and cargo bodies. Its production scope includes the following:
- Assembling of Trucks imported as CKD from Europe
- Selling IVECO vehicles completely built-up
- PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection)
- Servicing IVECO products for mechanical and bodywork
The workshop is ready to serve customers thanks to its equipment with competent mechanics, modern machines for service and maintenance for IVECO vehicle owners. AMCE holds spare parts and has vendors throughout the country as a result of which IVECO customers have the opportunity to buy IVECO genuine parts. IVECO-AMCE customers are assured that they get full service to run their fleet smoothly.
AMCE displayed during the event the Trakker AT380T38H, a heavy-duty truck, which is commercialized all over the world. In Ethiopia this model achieved, in the last 10 years, a running park of around 10.000 vehicles. IVECO provides Don Bosco Poly Technic College with equipment and knowhow in a donation to the school that includes a heavy-duty truck that will be used for the students‘ training activities. This donation ensures that the students will have a 360-degree learning experience with the opportunity to work with the engine, manual transmission, gearbox and other components. Didactic materials are also being provided by IVECO whose expert staff will provide teachers from the Technical College with the necessary training to conduct the course.
Upon successful course completion, with a duration of one year, the first group of close to a dozen students will receive a specialized certification in vehicle maintenance. Furthermore, CNH Industrial and IVECO will provide the qualifying students with internship opportunities within the IVECO dealer network in Ethiopia, where they will gain valuable on-the-job experience and the opportunity to seek direct employment.
“We believe also that those trainees completing their training in Don Bosco Poly Technic College will contribute a great deal to the Transport sector. As AMCE-IVECO is working to establish authorized workshops in different regions of the country, it is our hope that the trainees from Don Bosco will become part of our workforce,” said Eshetu Teshome, Service Manager in AMCE.
“We are thrilled that CNH Industrial and its IVECO brand have taken this important project to heart. The TVET in Mekelle is a strategic training center for us and we can confirm that with IVECO, and the efforts of many other stakeholders, we have given life to a great project that I am sure, will be of great value for many young students who require adequate training to build a future for themselves, their families and for the country," said Don Giuliano Giacomazzi, Supervisor of the Salesians of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna and a member of the Council of Fondazione Opera Don Bosco.
