Fasten your seatbelts: Porsche unveils training centre for young Capetonians

01 December 2016 - 15:49 By Dave Chambers
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For 75 young Capetonians who love fast cars‚ a dream is about to come true.

In the middle of 2017‚ Porsche is opening a training centre in Cape Town which will teach disadvantaged youngsters to work on its cars‚ as well as those of sister brands Audi and Volkswagen.

The launch follows the success of Porsche’s first training centre‚ in the Philippines’ capital‚ Manila‚ which trains 120 young people a year.

This Cape Town centre is being set up by German non-government organisation Don Bosco Mondo‚ its Salesian Institute Youth Projects in Cape Town‚ and Porsche importer LSM Distributors‚ which has sold more than 1 400 cars in South Africa in 2016.

Porsche chairman Oliver Blume would not disclose the value of the new training investment‚ saying the company was not “calculating the value of a business case”.

LSM Distributors CEO Toby Venter said young people needed “tangible and sustainable career prospects. The key to success is a solid education with career growth potential.”

Porsche is developing curricula and examination regulations‚ training instructors and equipping theoretical and practical lecture areas. LSM’s technical manager will assist with the training of instructors.

There are three different routes onto the training programme‚ depending on the applicants’ qualifications.

If an applicant is already sufficiently qualified for vocational training‚ he or she can access the two-year service mechatronic training programme directly.

Any applicants who do not possess the required qualifications can complete a six- to eight-week life skills training course at the Don Bosco Salesian Institute Youth Projects.

If an applicant lacks basic skills‚ he or she will be given the opportunity to complete a year-long vocational preparation course to prepare them for the working world. This option will be available to up to 50 people a year.

– TMG Digital/Cape Town Bureau

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