Tifa Asrianti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The auto industry and the city education agency said Tuesday the city needed more skilled mechanics from vocational schools due to advancements in technology of city vehicles.

Rio Rajab, an instructor at PT Toyota Astra Motor's training department, said with the rapid development of automotive technology, new engine breakthroughs were inevitable.

"We recruit most of our mechanics from manufacturers and after-sale divisions from vocational schools. So it's important the schools keep up with automotive trends through our training program," Rio told The Jakarta Post after a seminar on the improvement in quality of automotive schools.

The country's automotive market grew last year with more than 400,000 cars and around 5 million motorcycles sold.

In 2007, the city had 113 vocational schools teaching automotive mechanics with 9,228 graduates.

However, most schools are lagging behind manufacturer technology, Rio said. He said most schools still taught their students how to repair cars with carburetors, while most industries now used electronic fuel injection (EFI).

He said growing attention to the environment could result in new greener automotive technology.

"We help students in schools to learn the latest technology and we offer qualified human resources. It's a win-win solution," Rio said.

Bambang Pramestiadi, an official at the education agency, said the training program helped students to get jobs in the industry.

"There are not many schools that have complete workshops. Our training reduces the gap between schools and industries," he said.

Rio said the training program, Toyota Technical Educational Program (TTEP), was offered to students majoring in automotive mechanics in just two of the 113 vocational schools in the city.

"As a result, students from the two schools can meet company demand," he said.

He said his company had also decided to expand its influence by establishing training programs in seven other schools.

"We hope the Education Ministry will provide teaching tools in the seven schools. We also hope the partner schools will become learning centers for neighboring schools as it will boost the transfer of knowledge among the schools," he said.

Wannen Pakpahan, former principal at SMK 4, one of the partner schools, said his students reaped the benefits from the cooperation because it allowed them to learn the latest technology.

"We can't follow technological advances quickly enough because it is too expensive. The cooperation has helped both the schools and the industries," Wannen said.