Environment solutions company I-CAT plans to host a range of external, environment- orientated short courses and workshops at its Pretoria- based training facility by the last quarter of this year, as a means to keep the industry updated on legislation changes and the responsibility of industry players.

“I-CAT aims to use highly qualified and experienced facilitators to provide competency-based specialised training programmes at an affordable rate and will offer them in a high-quality, conveniently located green building,” enthuses I-CAT marketing director Lourens Jansen van Rensburg.

A variety of practically orientated environmental training courses and seminars will be offered to members of other industries – such as mining – which is less time-intensive and in line with the needs identified in the Environmental Sector Skills Plan (ESSP) for South Africa.

The ESSP – as set out by the Department of Environmental Affairs – describes the current status quo regarding the demand and supply of environmental skills, and provides available information on scarce and critical skills in the sector.

“The course content will be highly focused and structured in such a way as to reflect the reality of what is taking place in industry, rather than being theoretically orientated. Training programmes will, however, not be limited to the environmental field, but will also cover aspects such as health and safety training, as well as other mining-related training programmes,” Jansen van Rensburg explains.

The courses will appeal to a broad audience, including project managers and construction managers, and not only to those in environment-specific careers, he adds.

I-CAT intends to offer the external courses as shorter courses, which will be less time consuming and, therefore, reduce the cost of the course.

The practical, or “hands on”, approach, Jansen van Rensburg enthuses, will ensure that delegates are able to apply what they have learnt at their place of work.

He emphasises that the courses will remain market-related and competitive, without “skimping on the quality of the course content”.

Upcoming Courses

Upcoming courses, seminars and workshops which will be offered at the training facility, accredited by South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions and facilitated by accredited specialists in their field – in the fourth quarter of this year – will include courses and workshops relating to various aspects of environmental management.

Some of these aspects will include environmental legal compliance, director’s liabilities and duties, water management and waste classification, rehabilitation and close, financial provision, hazardous chemical substances management, air quality management, biodiversity management, sustainable development as well as snake handling and identification.

In-House Training

While I-CAT offers external courses to other industries, the company, however, also offers in-house training to I-CAT staff members on a weekly basis.

“We do a lot of in-house training for our staff, as well as offer in-house training to agents who sell our products,” Jansen van Rensburg points out.

“In-house training that has been completed this year includes training on occupational health and safety, first aid Level 1, waste management and recycling training, as well as training referring to the Human Resources (HR) handbook for policies and procedures,” notes I-CAT HR manager Johan Liebenberg.