Company Announcement - The dire need for skills upliftment in the South African coatings industry has been given a major boost by the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority - the Skills Education Training Authority created by the  government for the chemical industry - allocating funding for all the high-tech equipment and accessories required to run the new  SA Paint Industry Training Institute Training Centre to be built in Bedfordview.

SAPITI is the training arm of the SA Paint Manufacturing Association. It had previously been agreed that the owners of the property in Nicol Road from which SAPITI and the SAPMA now operate would  build the new Training Centre (to be leased by on site according to SAPMA requirements but SAPMA required  funding  assistance to acquire the expensive and sophisticated equipment needed to provide the training. Deryck Spence, executive director of the SA Paint Manufacturing Association, was advised on August 26 by CHIETA that its Board had approved a Discretionary Grant to SAPMA for the operational requirements of the Training Centre - including all high-technology equipment and studios to facilitate inter-active video conferencing tuition in multi-faceted Coatings Technology. "This will allow distance education to complement face-to-face tuition.  Also funded by CHIETA will be specialised laboratory equipment as well as equipment for practical training,  extensive tuition material, furniture, fittings, office equipment, computerised student data bases, and  an electronic assessment question bank." 

Spence says the government's recognition of the need for training in the coatings sector, coupled with the upliftment of skills and job opportunities the new training would bring, is gratifying. "The coatings industry has travelled a long road with CHIETA, developing  continuously improving relations and mutual understanding along the way, now culminating in this vital funding. The industry and CHIETA now have total consensus as far as training is concerned and we are immensely grateful for the opportunity to reduce the critical skills shortage in the industry. It endorses the fact that both the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blaze Nzimande, and CHIETA Acting Ceo, Ayesha Itzkin, understand the important of industry-specific training. The news of the grant has been received with gratification by all SAPMA members, and our retail members will also benefit from the new training," he stated.

Mandy Linossi, SAPITI Training Administrator, said: “The new web-based training to be offered at the Centre will enable SAPITI to raise the standard of professionalism, technology and practical knowledge of sales and advisory staff in the retail market. It will provide the retail market with the training it now urgently needs to comply with Consumer Protection Act legislation.” Plans have already been drawn up for the building of the Training Centre and construction work is expected to start immediately. It is hoped that the Centre will open its doors early next year.The Centre will have access to the internationally-respected British Coatings Federation training modules and  offer technical tuition at advanced levels as well as for non-technical industry staff to improve their knowledge of coatings. The news about the CHIETA grant towards the running of the new Training Centre follows the announcement earlier this year that SAPMA had been granted CHIETA-facilitated accreditation from the Quality Council for Trades & Occupations (QCTO) or its important Surface Coatings Technology training course.

SAPITI's Surface Coatings Technology Course is aimed at a variety of operations in the coatings industry including staff working in QC laboratories, technical sales representatives, and raw material supplier representatives. The course is also suitable for staff with careers focussed on product development and  formulation, technical support, trouble shooting and problem solving.