Millennial engineers have been hired by building solutions leader CEMEX Holdings Philippines and given the opportunity to learn and develop through the company’s Global ELO program, a year-long training at the CEMEX Monterrey headquarters in Mexico, the birthplace of the company.
Louise Nicholle Chan (22 years old), Rostum “Tomi” Hermano (22), Randolph Cruz (24), who are graduates from the University of the Philippines Diliman, joined John Ismael Arogo (20) from De La Salle University, and Mapua Institute of Technology’s Jeremiah Madrid (24) and Oscar Samillano (23) in the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
It will be their first time to live far from home, but the participants are looking forward to enhance their skills on safety, quality, production, and maintenance, and sharpen their capability to strategize and innovate while learning firsthand about the global cement manufacturer’s operations in its heritage country.
The program will also expose the trainees to different maintenance or expansion projects in other countries where the company operates.
The globalized training is one of the ways in which CEMEX promotes a culture of learning and development, an inclusive work environment that encourages innovative thinking and teamwork among counterparts around the world.
Sending the six young engineers to the CEMEX Global ELO program is the first for CEMEX Holdings Philippines, fueled by its vision to help hone Filipino youth’s potential and develop them into high-caliber professionals.
CEMEX’s Global ELO program now has 10 generations of trainees since it began in 2005, with chosen participants coming from Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Spain.
This year, the United States and Egypt together with the Philippines sent their pilot batch of young engineers to participate in the program.
“I’m excited to meet new friends and work with colleagues from other countries. It’s a good platform to get a global perspective of company operations,” said Nicholle, who initially shared how anxious she had been to join a male-dominated industry.
With two months at CEMEX’s operations under her belt, Nicholle affirmed that it has been an interesting and challenging work environment where she felt empowered.
For Tomi, he saw the program as a venue where he can assess the division that best fits him which is either in production, quality, or maintenance. Aside from academic prospects, he is equally excited to travel and explore Mexico. “I’m looking forward to see the cement plant in Monterrey, and get exposed to Mexican culture, its sights, and the street food,” he revealed.
Randolph echoed Tomi’s excitement and also shared his family’s reaction when he first told them that he was chosen for an international training. “They were really happy about it and said that I should grab the opportunity,” he said.
Ismael added that leaving their families behind to learn abroad inevitably causes anxiety, but such an opportunity should be held with both hands. Ismael has foreseen himself growing at CEMEX since before he joined the company two months ago.
True enough, the Global ELO program, he said, is a good first step in his career. “This is going to be my first time to live on my own, and in a foreign country. We will definitely learn to be independent.”
At present, the young engineers are learning to speak a little Spanish through the Duolingo mobile application. They will miss the Philippines for a year, but they are eager to start building their dreams to become successful engineers, backed by a diverse range of world-class skills and expertise.