The Filipino can, when he wants to
Denso Techno Academy offers a glimpse of what can happen when educators, industry, government, and institutions agree on a need and work together to address it.
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Denso Techno Academy offers a glimpse of what can happen when educators, industry, government, and institutions agree on a need and work together to address it.
On 20 August, over coffee, I caught up with Ramayana “May” Escobanes, or May-san as colleagues call her.
May-san is a general manager at Denso Techno Philippines and also happens to be my wife’s boss. I have known her for some time, so this was hardly our first conversation about the country.
Our conversations often wander there. She would share ideas about what could be done better, shaped perhaps by more than two decades in a Japanese corporate environment, and also by her experience as a Filipino whose family is involved in community affairs in Laguna.
So I was not surprised when she spoke proudly about Denso Techno Academy, which had just marked its first year.
The Academy began with 11 Senior High School graduates. Its idea is straightforward: identify promising young Filipinos, including those for whom college may be financially difficult, and prepare them for highly technical work through a two-year program combining automotive engineering, programming, workplace training, Nihongo, discipline and personal development.
May-san helped bring the initiative before management, secured support and eventually steered it. She was especially grateful for the backing of Morihiro Takano, executive vice president of Denso Techno Philippines.
I do not know Takano-san personally, but from what May-san shared, his commitment to harnessing Filipino talent is total. The company did not merely say it believed in these young people — it put something behind that belief.
There is, of course, a business reason.
Cars are no longer just steel, rubber and moving parts. Increasingly, they are software, electronics, sensors and code. For Denso Techno Philippines, developing Filipino engineers is preparation for the industry ahead.
This is where business and national interest can meet. A company needs globally competitive engineers. Young Filipinos need a chance to become exactly that. That is not charity. That is confidence with a plan.
Before my wife and I left, we chanced upon Jocelyn Alonzo, another member of May-san’s team. She looked tired but satisfied.
Jocelyn helps look after the trainees, many from Bulacan. As we said goodbye, she remarked almost casually: “Buti ang Denso, nakikitaan ng galing itong mga students ko.” (Denso is good as it sees the talent of my students.)
I kept thinking about that line. “Nakikitaan ng galing.” Not that Denso gave them “galing.” It saw something already there.
Training matters. Opportunity matters. Institutional support matters. But talent has never really been the Filipino’s handicap.
Our balangay crossed the waters of this archipelago and beyond. Our forebears were seafarers, navigators, builders and traders. The capacity to learn, adapt and build is hardly new to us.
Perhaps 11 young Filipinos can demonstrate what happens when ability meets organization, discipline and resources.
An unsolicited thought for Denso Techno Philippines: there is a state university in Mindanao called the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.
I have met its Chancellor, Alizedney Ditucalan, a couple of times. I cannot claim to know him personally, but I have admired MSU-IIT’s push into science and technology under his watch. Perhaps someday Denso might look south as well.
If the idea is to find Filipino talent worth developing, there is more waiting to be discovered.
And that thought goes beyond 11 students.
We often hear of young Filipinos leaving school only to discover that the jobs available to them demand a different set of skills. The gap between education and employment is far too complex for one academy, or one column, to resolve.
But Denso Techno Academy offers a glimpse of what can happen when educators, industry, government, and institutions agree on a need and work together to address it. Perhaps that is enough of a lesson for now.
We already know the Filipino can learn, build, adapt, and excel. So capability is not our excuse.
“Kung gusto ng Pilipino, nagagawa niya (If a Filipinos wants something done, he does it).” The more uncomfortable question may be: “Ano ba talaga ang gusto nating gawin?” (What do we really want to do?)
