Since 2009, water fittings manufacturer GROHE has 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. The successful GROHE Dual Tech aid project has now also been launched in Manila-Tondo in the Philippines, where a new training facility was opened on 24 October.
A proven concept rolled out to a new location
“Today is an important day for all of us,” said GROHE Management Board member Michael Mager on the occasion of the inauguration. “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.”
The inauguration ceremony, during which the building was blessed and a ribbon cut, 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.
The way to independence
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.
Says Christian Osterhaus, Managing Director of Don Bosco Mondo: “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.”
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. Thanks to their widely recognised graduation certificates, the young plumbers are not confined to the partner companies after finishing their training but can apply for a job with any other firm.
Assured quality of 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.
GROHE Dual Tech is a develoPPP.de project. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) fosters the involvement of the private sector at the point where business opportunities and development policy initiatives intersect. The programme is put into practice by Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) on behalf of the BMZ. DEG promotes business initiatives in developing and emerging countries and finances sustainable investments.
About GROHE Group:
The GROHE Group based in Luxembourg comprises Grohe AG and Joyou AG, both based in Germany, and other subsidiaries in foreign markets. The GROHE Group is the world’s leading provider of sanitary fittings.
With its global GROHE brand, the GROHE Group relies on its brand values of quality, technology, design and responsibility to deliver “Pure Freude an Wasser”. With the JOYOU brand, the Group addresses the fast growing Chinese market.
The GROHE Group was taken over by the LIXIL Group and the Development Bank of Japan in January 2014. The LIXIL Group is the global leader in the building materials and housing equipment industry. GROHE and Joyou remain independent within the LIXIL Group.
About GROHE India Pvt. Ltd. (GIPL):
GROHE India Pvt. Ltd. (GIPL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of GROHE AG and has completed nine years of direct operations in India. In this time has acquired a dominant position in the Indian market as one of the largest selling foreign brands. GROHE launched its second Indian ‘GROHE Live! Centre’ in Mumbai in February 2012. This centre is a great opportunity for people to come and experience the world of GROHE. Besides featuring the entire range of GROHE products, the Live! Centre also showcases the GROHE elements of Quality, Technology and Design. GROHE has been recently awarded with two Good design Japan awards for its innovative products ‘Minta Touch‘ and ‘GROHE Blue mono‘, taking its 2013 tally to an impressive 18 awards. As an organisation, Grohe takes mutual responsibilities very seriously, examples of which can be seen with the successful launch of the Grohe Jal Academy at the Don Bosco Institute. This Academy trains underprivileged individuals to learn plumbing skills that can be utilised towards a lifelong vocation.
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