How this young mechanic's repair shop has gotten bigger than his garage

28 July 2013

Rolando Diaz was pounding metals and repairing cars in a greased garage at an age when his contemporaries were partying, pursuing a career or starting a family.

The 26-year-old native of Iba, Zambales just had to. His father, who built the small car repair shop, was no longer that strong to attend to the job, and his brothers and sisters were all living with their respective families.

Diaz had his own job as part-time driver and mechanic, but which paid him only P7,500 per month.

It was his mother who made him realize he could do more, and challenged him to take over the operations of the shop.

"But she said I should arm myself first with a good training so I can personally attend to the clients and deliver quality service," he said.

"The natural drift was to look at the available college courses. But then I realized that it would take me longer to finish studying, also, college was costly, something I could not afford," Diaz added.

Diaz did not have to look too far for an alternative education. Training institutes that were either run or supervised by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) abound in their province. Then there's also the TESDA Provincial Training Center, which offered technical vocational education and training(TVET) at no cost.

Choosing the course was easy as he already knew what he wanted to specialize on--Automotive Servicing. After finishing the course, he went through the assessment and was soon issued a certificate.

Few weeks after his graduation, Diaz's father passed away, leaving him to manage and operate the shop. He said it felt like plunging into a deep sea from a puddle, but because of his education, survival did not become difficult.

With his certificate, he was able to register the family business at the Department of Trade and Industry that made it a legitimate business. He personally attended to the repairs and used the skills he learned from training in fixing the vehicles of their clients.

More and more clients came, many of them referrals from his previous customers. He had to hire additional manpower to attend to clients promptly.

To be more competitive, Diaz saved money aggressively so he could purchase additional equipment. Close to two years since taking over the shop, he was able to buy bending and welding machines, and is honing his skills in operating them. The car shop is now a booming business which earns him around P25,000 a month.

Diaz also received a retainer's fee from a private company for maintaining its vehicles.

Diaz said the secret to his success was not at all hidden-perseverance, hard work, a little creativity, and help from institutions like TESDA and the local government, which opened up the opportunity for him to study.