VITUG (above) is flanked by Electrolux’s Pionilla and Bayot
While schools are sending their students out to do on-the-job training, Electrolux, the European appliance manufacturer, is putting some of its people back in academe.
Don Bosco Technical Institute-Makati has taken on the task of making Electrolux’s frontliners, dubbed brand ambassadors, more technology savvy so they can better assist prospective buyers.
Electrolux, a leading home appliance maker, has set up a training room at Don Bosco where its ambassadors can see beyond the “pretty faces” of the products they are supposed to sell. Refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners, etc. are being opened to let the Electrolux frontliners look at the computerized “heart and brain” of each appliance.
In the highly competitive home appliance market, Electrolux expects that sales representatives with a better grasp of the technology and unique features of their products will give them an advantage over competitors.
The program involves both a one-day basic and two- to three-day intensive training. It is in addition to in-house training given by Electrolux.
Under the supervision of Fr. Dindo S. Vitug, SDB, technical director of the Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) center, Fides Lobrin-Bayot, Electrolux trade marketing manager, says the training will enable brand ambassadors, who assist customers of appliance stores, to respond to questions that go beyond looks.
More informed sales representatives will hopefully help clients decide in
favor of the European brand.
Tutelage from Don Bosco instructors will teach frontliners to give the right answers at a time when consumers are also starting to look “under the hood,” so to speak, of the things they buy.
Handling modern clients
The trainees will be prepped to answer questions on energy efficiency, recyclability, advantages of front-load versus top-load (for washing machines) or vice versa, etc.
Trainees learn about the different refrigerator models
Bayot says they chose Don Bosco because it can meet their training needs and help them achieve their goals.
Andrea Soto-Pionilla, Electrolux marketing manager, says they decided to partner with Don Bosco because of their shared core values—they both put a premium on the quality of their products.
“Brand ambassadors have to know their products well,” Vitug says. He points out that Don Bosco instructors not only know the technology but also pedagogy or teaching techniques and methods to ensure that students learn.
“Don Bosco trainers really know how to teach,” aside from knowing the technology, Bayot agrees. She points out that while there are many experts, they often do not know how to transfer their knowledge to others.
Vitug says, for the school and its teachers, partnering with another industry giant will not only improve the skills of mentors but also broaden their horizons and those of their students.
While the Electrolux training room, which will host 25 people per session, including two instructors, is too small for regular Don Bosco classes, Vitug says regular students will be familiarized with the Electrolux appliances, which are arranged just like in a commercial establishment.
He says Don Bosco students are training on other brands that have also partnered with the school. “[But] we want our students to have a broader perspective and not [be limited to] just one brand…,” Vitug says.
“Students will learn something new from having the training program at Don Bosco, as the teacher-trainers can teach them what they (instructors) themselves learn about Electrolux technology, particularly refrigeration and air-conditioning,” he says.
Pionilla says that while there are a lot of similarities between their basic products and those of other brands, there are some features unique to theirs. Electrolux also has a wider range of appliances for Don Bosco students to learn about.
Empowerment
Bayot says they want their brand ambassadors to look at the training they are providing “as a way to uplift their lives, to empower them.”
The frontliners, ages 18-25 and have finished high school or second-year college (some high-end outlets, says Bayot, want college graduates), are contractual employees but the additional training and how well they use it may open up possibilities for regular positions.
The training room can hold 25 people.
After another year, as new, updated models are introduced into the market, Bayot says there will be another intensive course.
The partnership with Don Bosco Makati means, of course, that trainees will be those in Metro Manila and
environs.
But Bayot says there are plans to also train those in other places, most likely in partnership with other Don Bosco schools.
She says, for the new partnership, Electrolux donated the room and appliances while Don Bosco provides the instructors.
Five days after each training session, trainers will do an analysis and make recommendations for changes or improvements.
PHOTOS BY ROMY HOMILLADA