Company Announcement - Enrolments are now open for the SA Paint Industry Training Institute Paint Technology course, starting in February 2015. SAPITI, the training arm of the SA Paint Manufacturing Association, has been providing top quality technical training to the paint industry for more than 25 years. Top of the list of its offering is an internationally recognised Paint Technology course, especially designed for paint industry staff following a technical career.
“With the shortage of skills now such a major concern in the coatings and the entire construction industry, SAPITI expects strong demand for the 2015 training so early enrolment is advised,” says Mandy Linossi, SAPMA Training Administrator. “Employers should remember that investing in staff training tends to make the qualified staff not only more competent - and well-versed in ever-changing modern paint technology - but also more motivated and likely to perform better. Satisfied, motivated staff are also less likely to leave which lowers a company’s recruitment costs.”

Most of the 11 distance-learning modules of the Paint Technology course are of six months’ duration and consist of a self-study segment combined with compulsory practical exercises in the laboratories of SAPMA members under the guidance of qualified tutors. Qualifications are certified and recognised throughout the coatings industry, and the successful completion of the first eight Paint Technology modules leads to the award of an Oil and Colour Chemists’ Association globally-recognised professional qualification.

The modules covered in the course are:
• Basic Technology;
• Paint Application;
• Solvents and media;
• Pigments and dispersion;
• Modifiers;
• Evaluation;
• Convertible media;
• Formulation principles;
• Powder manufacture and application;
• Powder formulation principles; and
• Basic Science.  

Grade 12 level in English, Mathematics and Science is the normal minimum requirement for the course already completed by over 7 000 students in southern Africa after training by SAPITI’s highly qualified tutors. New candidates for the training have to complete an assessment to determine prior learning.