Hill Side artisan academy offers a range of courses
A range of courses offering practical skills development in boiler making, pipefitting and welding is now available through Hill Side artisan academy.
The academy is part of the Hydra Arc Group and is accredited with the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority, or CHIETA, and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, or QCT.
Hill Side academy currently offers the following programmes:
- Welding National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 2 learnership for approximately 12 months
- Welding occupational qualification NQF level 4 for approximately two-and-a-half years
- Boiler making NQF level 2 learnership for approximately 12 months
- Boiler making occupational qualification NQF level 4 for approximately two-and-a-half years.
Future plans include the introduction of training programmes for electricians, welding inspectors, riggers and safety officers.
According to the National Artisan Moderation Body, or NAMB, regulations, in order for learners to progress to a trade test with the necessary experience, a Grade 9 schooling level is required. In addition, learnership agreement requirements stipulate that only employer- recruited learners can currently be accommodated.
Hill Side has the capacity to train approximately 1 200 learners at a time, training 1 000 learner welders, 450 pipe fitters and 50 boiler makers annually. The academy offers welding and boiler making (semiskilled) one-year learnerships, which don’t require grade 12 maths and science levels as a prerequisite. However learners are required to pass a basic numeracy and literacy test, as well as practical and medical assessments.
The academy boasts a 100% pass rate for learners who have completed its institutional training and it asserts that it has created more than 200 new jobs in its sector over the past 5 years.