Automotive
1Cooperation between Trade Schools and Doğuş Otomotiv
Doğuş Otomotiv is determined to contribute to education and employment by developing cooperation with trade schools. For this purpose, new laboratories and classrooms have been installed at Şişli Industrial and Vocational College and Samandıra Industrial and Vocational College, and new curricula have been developed for both. Doğuş Otomotiv supports trade schools to participate in international competitions and the Ministry of National Education to organize such competitions. Every year, 50% of the 50 graduates of Volkswagen classes are employed at the company's authorized dealer and service organization (with 60% directly at Doğuş Oto). In addition, internship opportunities are offered to nearly 100 students studying at these trade schools.
vdf's Support to Education
vdf has been supporting education through its contributions to the Community Volunteers Foundation. The company also donates its disused IT office equipment and computers to the Association in Support of Contemporary Living (ÇYDD). In 2010, vdf donated 21 computers and monitors as part of this support; 16 of these computers are used at "Contemporary Life Dila Kurt Education House."
Traffic is Life
Ever since 2004, the community awareness program of Doğuş Otomotiv entitled "Traffic is Life" aims to increase social and customer awareness on various safety issues such as safer driving in traffic, increased pedestrian awareness and effective use of and adherence to traffic rules. Safe use of the vehicles Doğuş Otomotiv sells, and for which we provide after-sales services, continued to be a top priority issue for the company among its community engagement targets in 2010. In order to attain that goal, Doğuş Otomotiv fully shares responsibility for its vehicles not only during sales but also in the after-sales phase. The "Traffic is Life" community engagement program will continue to be developed to provide the utmost benefit for the society we live in.
InfoRooms
Another program launched by Doğuş Otomotiv in 2009 as a key part of "Traffic is Life," is called the InfoRooms. This program aims at increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of waiting rooms for Doğuş Otomotiv customers, and stresses the link between traffic and in-car safety. Continued in 2010, this program depicts facts that positively inform our customers on safe driving, vehicle maintenance and life cycle, presenting this information in a visually effective and accessible fashion. InfoRooms present our customers easy and direct information on issues they most frequently come across; they can write comments and wishes in notebooks designated for that purpose.
Traffic Responsibility Action
Traffic Responsibility Action (TRA) has been brought into life under the coordination of the Turkish Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications with the support of TÜVTURK in order to raise awareness about acting responsibly in traffic.
Having been initiated on May 4, 2010, and being one of the most comprehensive CSR projects carried out in Turkey, TRA set off on the basic principle of stakeholder engagement. The project includes six ministries and their affiliated corporations, six universities, two metropolitan municipalities, non-governmental organizations and media corporations.
TRA have three different subprojects:
1. Safe Vehicle Action: SVA reached 170,000 individuals in the field activities and 3,000 commercial vehicle drivers at the training seminars in 36 provinces.
2. Responsible Citizen Action: RCA reached 2.500 teachers and instructors working in Public Training Centers in 25 provinces. The total number reached this way is over 50,000. Additionally, Responsible Citizen Action reached students at the seminars in 6 universities.
3. Bosom Buddies Action: Two seminars were held for representative teachers from 36 provinces. It anticipates reaching 3,200 teachers, over 100,000 students, 200,000 parents and 6,000 school bus drivers in 300 schools.
The TV films of the project were broadcasted more than 16.500 times on 25 national television channels and have been watched by at least the 80 percent of the population at least once. Within this framework, in an attempt to emphasize individual responsibility and set people in motion, the motto of the project has been "Act responsibly in traffic. All the time!"
The greatest success achieved by the project has been the positive change in knowledge and behavior in the target groups it touched. Besides, prestigious national and international awards prove that the project is standing as a role-model project for traffic safety:
- Best TV Ad in the Category of Social Responsibility (Kristal Elma Odulleri-Crystal Apple Awards, 2011)
- SABRE Excellence Award (SABRE Awards, 2011)
- Best Road-show of the Year (The Turkish Association of Direct Marketing, 2010)
- Grand Prize in the field of Active Support: www.trafikhareketi.org (Interactive Media Awards, 2011)
- Grand Prize in the field of Child: www.candostlarihareketi.com (Interactive Media Awards, 2011)
TÜVTURK - Count Us in Too!
"Count Me Too In Transport, Communication and Life!" (Ulaşımda, İletişimde, Hayatın İçinde Ben de Varım!) is a project initiated by the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Communications. It is based on the belief that those disabled individuals can work despite their disadvantages, and thus both they and their families might hold on to life more firmly.
TÜVTURK contributes to this meaningful project of high spiritual values by saying 'Count us in too!' TÜVTURK has offered job opportunity for disabled citizens at the TÜVTURK Call Center. In addition to those who come to work, TÜVTURK has made the necessary hardware and substructure accessible for new candidates, and created an environment where individuals are able to provide call-center services from their own homes. The fact that victims of traffic accidents answer the questions about the services provided at TÜVTURK vehicle inspection stations, and make a contribution to the traffic safety, however indirectly, assigns a special sense and significance to this service.
In line with its employment policy for the Call Center, TÜVTURK gives priority to employing individuals with any kind of disability due to a traffic accident. Following the participation of TÜVTURK in "Count Me Too In Transport, Communication and Life!" project, such employment has accelerated; currently, TÜVTURK Call Center employs 100 individuals, including 60 customer representatives who work from home.
Since the date when TÜVTURK decided to expand the scope of the project all over the country, new employees have joined the call-center staff from different cities. During the recruiting procedure, candidates with clear voices and smooth diction were determined through phone interviews first, and then trainers were sent to their cities, where they gave theoretical training regarding vehicle inspection. The second phase of the training involved visits to inspection stations; with the participation of local business associates, theoretical training was reinforced by on-site observations and inspections. Following instruction on the computer and communication substructure, the candidates were ready to answer initial questions and become employed within the body of TÜVTURK Call Center.
Currently, 60 disabled employees from 18 cities all over the country answer nearly 250,000 calls monthly along with other 40 customer representatives. TÜVTURK believes it set an example for all corporations on solutions for facilitating the employment of the disabled.