Materials testing and materials sector training facility Cermalab intends to open its training courses to the public next year and has started to expand its training institute to offer a variety of courses.

Cermalab has focused only on providing training services for suppliers, manufacturers and users in the ceramics market to date.

“Significant demand for training in the ceramics industry has resulted in our training division developing from one department in the company to a registered entity – the Institute for Ceramic Education (ICE), which was established in 2018,” says Cermalab GM Johan Naude.

He notes that ceramics is a shrinking industry, owing to the very few available training programmes available in South Africa, and Cermalab intends to change that.

The training courses that Cermalab currently offers are brickmaking, refractory awareness, quality control and construction material manufacturing.

“Our brickmaking course has been the most successful owing to the high demand from industry and we have been offering this course for more than fifteen years.”

The ICE has recently developed the informal and industrial brickmaking course to train and upskill candidates in the processing and manufacturing of clay bricks in informal and industrial environments.

“A combination of theoretical and practical learning enables candidates to receive a comprehensive and complete learning experience. This, combined with the right skills, will enable them to produce and sell their own products on the market,” Naude comments.

While Cermalab does not provide job opportunities at its institute, it does aim to assist candidates in the job market.

“Our aim is to equip our candidates with the necessary skills and qualifications that will enable them to enter the job market and be successful in their pursuit of employment. Also, our institute aims to help candidates who are currently employed in the industry develop at the company where they are employed,” he concludes.