Car dreams in a forested mountain

HARI president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo gives VIP guests Calamba City Mayor Justin Marc Chipeco, Hyundai Motor Group CSR Division director Byung Hoon Lee, and Hyundai Motor Company Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters head Yong Suk Lee a tour of the HDCP workshop area and a chance to interact with the students.

South Korean automotive giant Hyundai has added another feather to its cap in one of its more lucrative Asean growth markets, the Philippines.

Faithful to its emblem of a fluidly expressed “H” embraced in an oval frame, said to be of two people linking arms, Hyundai has figuratively embraced poor but promising Filipino youth with its latest project.

At the 10-hectare Hyundai Logistics Center inside the Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve and the Tagaytay mountain ridge is a new training and education hub for underprivileged Filipino youth, the Hyundai Dream Center Philippines (HDCP).

Last April 10, Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc (Hari), the official Philippine distributor of Hyundai vehicles, inaugurated HDCP.

Hari described HDCP as the fruit of the partnership among Hari, Hyundai Motor Group (HMG), and global humanitarian organization Plan International.

The project aims to elevate the level of vocational-technical skills in the Philippine automotive industry by providing bright, young Filipinos with training scholarships on vehicle repair and maintenance.

HDCP is the latest addition to other Dream Centers built in collaboration with local vocational schools over the past five years in Ghana, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Hari revealed that this would be the first time Hyundai Motor Group in South Korea would partner with a local distributor to design and implement the training courses for the center.

During the inaugural ceremonies, Hari narrated that the first batch of HDCP scholars “capped off the program by creating a colorful mural of handprints, representing their dreams for the future and their contributions to the program as members of the pioneering batch.”

As of press time, however, Hari has not disclosed the actual number of scholars initially included in the HDCP program.

The inaugural event was also attended by representatives and board members from the three partner institutions, and officials from the national, provincial, and local government.

Among the highlights of the program was the unveiling of the center’s marker by Hari president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo, Hyundai Motor Company Asia-Pacific Regional Headquarters head Yong Suk Lee, and Plan International deputy country director for operations Patrick Kirwan.

Agudo said: “When you dream alone, chances are you will stay dreaming. But when you dream together and pursue it, then that dream becomes a reality. Built on the pillars of commitment, inclusiveness, and human capital, the big idea comes alive before our eyes.”

HDCP partners and guests then released butterflies in the HLC campus symbolizing Hyundai and Plan International’s objective to provide Filipinos with the tools they need to seek out new careers and opportunities. The Mandaluyong Children’s Choir sang songs about shared dreams.

According to Agudo, “HDCP symbolizes not just our commitment to contribute to human capital development in the automotive industry, but our dream of improving the lives of Filipinos as well. We are especially proud that our partners could meet the first batch of scholars and witness their progress firsthand.”

On April 28, 2015, the Hyundai Logistics Center was declared by the Philippine Green Building Initiative as a “genuine eco-development,” which meant that the establishment (which houses a vast number of Hyundai vehicles) and its facilities adhere to a green rating system determined by energy-efficiency and sustainability, water- and energy-efficiency and occupant well-being.