BMW Group Thailand, led by Mr. César Badilla, Director Aftersales, together with teachers and students from Chitralada Vocational School, Chitralada Technology Institute, Don Bosco Institute of Technology and Eastern College of Technology (E. Tech) joined the photo session after the presentation ceremony for scholarship and German-accredited certificate under German-Thai Dual Excellence Education (GTDEE) program for BMW Service Apprentice Program’s graduates batch 6 at the BMW Group Thailand Training Center, Pathumthani province.

Pathumthani. BMW Group Thailand has continually strengthened the solid foundations of mechatronics for vocational students through the seventh years of its dual excellence education ‘BMW Service Apprentice Program’, which aims to invest in human resources for the future of the automotive industry. Recently, the program oversaw the presentation of certificates to 14 students from batch 6, following their completion of training and work within the BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad authorised dealer network. A total of 51 scholarships were also awarded during the ceremony to students in batches 7 and 8 from Chitralada Vocational School, Chitralada Technology Institute, Don Bosco Technical College and the Eastern Technological College (E.TECH). In addition, BMW Group Thailand handed over two BMW Twin-clutch gearbox GD 7F30G sets to each institute to be used in the training.

Mr. César Badilla, Director Aftersales, BMW Group Thailand, congratulated the students and graduates, saying: “This certification and scholarship ceremony reflects another achievement for BMW Service Apprentice Program’s graduates and reiterates our company’s ongoing commitment to always creating learning opportunities for these students while also elevating Thai vocational education and bringing the automotive industry up to international standards. This will help strengthen Thailand’s economy going forward.”

Dr. Alexander Raubold, Counsellor of Economic and Commercial Affairs, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Bangkok, added: “This is definitely one of the important steps in life for participating students who have received world-class German-accredited vocational education certification for Automotive Mechatronics, which is equivalent to professional technician status in Germany. This is also considered a great preparation for Thailand to advance into the Industry 4.0 era, which requires highly skilled labour in order to build and develop the country’s capacities and competitiveness.”

The BMW Service Apprentice Program was initiated in 2012 and recognized as part of the German-Thai Dual Excellence Education (GTDEE) program. The curriculum was developed in partnership with the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce and the BMW Group Thailand dealers’ network. Participating students receive training in fundamentals at the College, while theory and practical training are taught at the BMW Training Center, with on-the-job training and support provided by BMW certified technicians at authorized BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad dealerships. Since its inception, the partnership has developed young technicians and enabled them to become skilled workers in the automotive industry, while also reinforcing Thailand’s potential as a global automotive production hub.