PPG employees from Istanbul, Bursa and Ankara have embarked on a new and exciting mentoring project in Turkey. The project aims to enthuse and educate young people about further training and the world of work. Their efforts will focus on teamwork, time management, communication, problem solving, social interaction, self-confidence, and other hard and soft skills.
The project will last for two years, ending in 2019 and will make a difference to 58 high school students across three different cities!
5% of the total PPG Turkey workforce are engaged with the program; working with three different schools in five different teams and meeting with students 14 times over the course of the program. When the project comes to an end, the team will have donated at least 360 hours of their time to the cause.
The PPG mentoring team took students to PPG facility tours and have also included the expertise and support of their customers in the project. Involving automotive giant and initiative partner, Ford, will lead to opportunities like factory visits, meeting workers, visiting lines, attending presentations delivered by the paintshop managers and the opportunity for student to dine with Ford employees.
The mentoring projects is a part of already existing schemes in Turkey. Starting in 2012, the Vocational High Schools Mentoring Project, a partner project started by the Private Sector Volunteer Association (ÖSGD), aims to create a link between private sector employees and civil society needs. Since 2002, ÖSGD has linked 70 companies and enrolled 7,000 volunteers to work with 30 different NGOs in Turkey.