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GM Middle East Graduates 500th Automotive Technician From Filipino Training Academy

2012-01-25

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DUBAI – General Motors Middle East has passed a major training milestone and graduated its 500th student from the GM Advanced Technical Training Center in Angat, Philippines.

Located 90 kms from the Filipino capital Manila, GM Middle East opened the Advanced Technical Training Center in June 2008 to fulfill a need for more highly skilled automotive technicians in the region.

Each year four groups of 50 students participate in a 13-week intensive training program. They learn how to keep all GM vehicles in perfect service order and how to diagnose, repair and correct any potential fault or operating problem. Once fully trained, the graduate technicians are then assigned to Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC dealerships across the Middle East.

“A key objective for GM in the Middle East is to provide all our customers with a world-class shopping, buying and ownership experience. One way to achieve this is to ensure that GM has the very best dealer technicians in the region. So in 2008 we invested in the development of the Advanced Technical Training Center in the Philippines to ensure we can always provide our dealers with highly skilled automotive technicians that can give our customers the best service experience,” said Luay Al Shurafa, Director of Customer Services at GM Middle East.

Today, 22 percent of all GM dealer technicians across the Middle East are graduates of the Advanced Technical Training Center. There are currently 400 graduates working at Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC dealerships around the region, while 67 have completed their contracts. Another 44 graduates will start their dealer placement in early 2012, including Mr Jayson Deliquina who was the 500th graduate from training program and will soon start work at the National Motor Company - Bahrain’s Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC dealership.

The graduates from the Advanced Technical Training Center are among some of the very best dealer technician in the region. At the recent GM Dealer Technician Skills Competition held at the Dubai Autodrome in December 2011, graduates from the Filipino program achieved scores 10 percent higher than the average. The winner of the competition, Noel Pangan from Universal Motors Agencies in Damman, Saudi Arabia, was also a graduate.

The Advanced Technical Training Center forms part of GM Middle East’s $10 million annual investment in technical and customer care training for its dealer technicians, showroom staff and customer service personnel. As well as the training center in Angat, GM Middle East also operates academies in Dubai, UAE; and Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Together these facilities provide 2,400 training days a year from 70 technical and customer care trainers. Combined with web-based training, GM Middle East provides 169,000 hours of training every year.

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE: GM, TSX: GMM), one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 208,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in more than 120 countries.  GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 30 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Baojun, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall, and Wuling. The Global Chevrolet brand is celebrating its 100thbirthday in 2011. GM’s largest national market is China, followed by the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Italy.  More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.

In the Middle East since the 1920s, General Motor’s vehicle brands sold in the region are Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC supported by a unique set of customer-focused services. GM parts and accessories are sold under the GM Parts and ACDelco brands. The regional office in Dubai covers the company’s operations in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Yemen. For more media material about GM in the Middle East, please visit http://media.gmarabia.com.