African Fusion June 2019

SAIW bulletin board

Improvement to flagship SAIW Welding Inspector Programmes old Jansen, says that while the outstanding quality of the IWIP courses is not doubted by the local industry, it is abundantly clear that industry wants the SAIW courses to once again play a major part in the SAIW Inspectors programme. “We have heard them and it makes absolute sense. After all, these are courses that were developed in conjunction with local industry with content that is absolutely pertinent to South African conditions and local industry characteristics.”

F ollowing a decision to focus more on the internationally recognised Inter- national Institute of Welding’s (IIW) IWIP Basic, Standard and Comprehensive pro- grammes, SAIW Inspectors Level 1 course were removed from the curriculum, while SAIW Inspectors Level 2 took a back seat. “In retrospect, we see that this has not worked out in the way it was planned and we will, with immediate effect, be bring- ing back a new version of the Inspectors programme which includes both the SAIW Inspectors courses and the IIW courses,” says Jim Guild, SAIW’s caretaker execu- tive director. He adds that for more than 40 years the SAIW Welding Inspector programmes (Level 1 and Level 2) were the backbone of the South African welding industry and by far the most popular courses at the SAIW. These courses have been specifically tai- lored to meet local industry requirements and, since inception, theyhavebeen thepre- ferred education and training choice of the largeend-user organisationsand fabricators in the local welding industry. “It’s time to refocus on these iconic courses,” says Guild. SAIWsystems andqualitymanager, Har- SAIW Open Days A s part of its strategy to promote weld- ing as a career to the youth of South Africa, the Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) has put into motion a se- ries of Open Days to enable young people who are in the process of deciding what to do with their lives to see what weld- ing and its related technologies can offer

Open Day Initiative The first ‘experimental’ OpenDay in Johan- nesburg was a rip-roaring success with nearly 50 young people attending. “The response was better than we expected, pointing to the need for young people to gain first-hand experience of what the welding industry can offer in terms of a career,” says Guild. He adds that experiencing at close quar- ters thewide range of career possibilities in welding helps to counter the stigma that welding is a low-paying ‘backyard’ activity for fixing gates and burglar bars. “Nothing could be further fromthe truth,” Guild says. “In the three broad categories of Welding Inspection and Technology, Non-Destruc- tive Testing, and Practical Welding there are a host of different complex, high-end specialities to choose fromenabling young people to find a career in something that suits their individual interest and tempera- ment … and make a good living!” All participants were given a chance to, inter alia , make a weld, see a robotic weld- ing machine in action, see the processes involved in a host of non-destructive test- ing techniques and to witness some of the activities in the SAIW’s state-of-the-art Materials Testing Laboratory. The response fromthe participantswas, as expected, enthusiastic. focusedprogrammewithan internationally recognised programme, the SAIWwill offer the best of both worlds. In order to ensure the best possible standards, the SAIW has taken cognisance of the latest industry feed-back and has refined the courses to ensure they are completely up to date with the pertinent technology. “By amalgamating parts of the IWIP programmes with SAIW programmes we have created a world-class product to the satisfaction of the local industry. From the students’ perspective they obtain two diplomas simultaneously at each level – one South Africa focused and one interna- tionally focused,” Zichawo says. Upon successful completion of the SAIW Inspectors Level 1 examination, students will not only be issued with an SAIW In- spectors Level 1 qualification, providing access to the South African industry, but alsowith an IWI Basic Diploma, which gives individuals access to the global market with an internationally recognised and respected International InstituteofWelding (IIW) qualification. Should students want to go to the next level, they will no longer be required to

them. The first Open Day was recently held to great success in Johannesburg with Cape Town and Durban to follow in the near future. According to the SAIW caretaker ex- ecutive director, Jim Guild, there is little doubt that one of themost pressing global issues for young people is finding a solid, fulfilling and financially rewarding career. “In a country like South Africa, where the unemployment rate is amongst the highest in theworld and job opportunities increas- ingly hard to come by, this issue is perhaps the most urgent of all,” he says. But, he adds, all is not lost! “Welding, being the foundation of almost everything that ismanufactured, constructed or built, constantly requires welding professionals to operate in a vast range of industries including the construction, automotive, oil and gas, aeronautical, shipping, power generation and more. In fact, the welding industry is pretty much the perfect hedge against recessionary economies in terms of its ability to provide employment. “We have called welding the ‘miracle career’ because of its ability to provide employment both locally and abroad with recent surveys showing, for example, that most of the people who successfully complete an SAIW course get employed in a stable job,” Guild says. After deep analysis and research, and taking into account the needs and desires of the local industry, the SAIWhas launched a new, improved Inspectors programme, which incorporates SAIW Levels 1 and 2 with the IIW programmes. Shelton Zichawo, SAIW training services manager says that froma local perspective, the advantages of the new arrangement is that it focuses squarely on national requirements in the development of local competence, while directly addressing the local needs for national skills development. “And, perhaps most importantly, it’s what our industry wants,” he says. He adds that by combining the locally

The first ‘experimental’ Open Day in Johannesburg was a rip-roaring success with nearly 50 young people attending.

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June 2019

AFRICAN FUSION