African Fusion November 2015

SAIW Member profile: Hydra-Arc SAIW: S an's comment

SAIW and SAIW Certification

2 015 has been a year of con- siderable uncertainty and change. The economy is not

SAIW President M Maroga - SAIW President Board members JR Williamson - Personal member T Rice - Personal member DJ Olivier - Personal member W Rankin - Personal member P Viljoen - PEMA A Koursaris - Personal member F Buys – Sasol Synfuels

returning to growth, the industrial landscape in many places looks bleak, political uncertainty per- sists and we are surrounded by unrest and unhappiness. We all have to adjust our horizons in order to remain relevant. With the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ increasing, South Africa is in a difficult position. We desperately need solutions that can reduce inequality and poverty in South Africa. In this regard, I takemy lead fromNelson Mandela, who said: “Education is themost powerful weapon we can use to change the world.” The advantaged people of today are those who have benefitted from good access to education. The disadvantaged have not. As an education- and training–focused Institute, SAIW has a role to play in reducing social inequality and addressing the long-term stability concerns of the country. A problem that we have in South Africa is that, while a lot has been done to provide training, the people leaving some courses are not suf- ficiently skilled to add value to industry. Although private, SAIW training courses depend on industry accep- tance, acceptance that demands that we provide skilled people into the fabrication workplace. This is the ideal model. It means that the people we train develop relevant skills towards secure employment. At the same time, industry benefits fromthe competence SAIW-trained employees bring to the workplace. Partnershipmodels such as ours, involving training institutes and the industries they serve, are the logical starting point towards upskill- ing the country. Training on its own is not enough. A good candidate froma training school needs to develop skills through good industrial experience. Both are necessary to develop a well skilled artisan who will add value to industry and the economy. At SAIW, we have begun to place renewed emphasis on the quality, relevance, value and sustainability of all of our training products, so that we can continue to deliver programmes that can enhance indus- try’s needs and create employment. Politicians and government agencies also have a role to play, however, it is their responsibility to create the environment that will allow people and industry to succeed. We are currently on the brink of important project investment decisions. But have we learned from the past or are we going to allow history to repeat itself? In the 70s and 80s we built power stations and refineries, and built up a healthy local skills base. But by the start of the 2010 era, these skills were completely eroded. We are now looking at new project choices to rescue the ailing economy. We can choose between projects that use the skills already developed and those that will leave skilled people on the unwanted shelf. Will we learn from the mistakes of the past and choose projects that allow us to continue to upskill with a view tomaximising local potential? If sowe can drive the economy and industry into the next upturn, which will come. And all of us, politicians, government agencies, institutes, indus- tries and private citizens, need to be doing everything in our power to support localisation and local businesses. It would be a tragedy if we again regressed as we did in the 80s and 90s. May you have a restful break and come back into 2016 invigorated and ready to face the ongoing challenge. Sean Blake

G Joubert - SAISI J Pieterse - Afrox J Zinyana - Personal member L Breckenridge - CEA A Paterson - University of the Witwatersrand J Tarboton – SASSDA

SAIW Certification Governing Board G Joubert - Chairperson, ArcelorMittal

A Koursaris - SAIW F Buys - SAQCC IPE S Blake – SAIW D Olivier - SAQCC CP

R Williamson - Service Industry P Viljoen - Fabricator’s Board W Rankin - Velosi J Zinyana - New Age Welding Solutions P Bruwer - Sasol Synfuels M Moraga - Eskom S Moodly - SAPREF B Beetge - Sentinel Inspection SAIW Foundation Board M Maroga: Chairperson - Eskom S Blake - SAIW P Pistorius - University of Pretoria

S Jordaan - Steinmüller P Venter – ArcelorMittal J Pieterse- Afrox

SAIW and SAIW Certification representatives

Executive director S Blake Tel: (011) 298-2101 Fax: (011) 836-6014 sean.blake@saiw.co.za

Training services manager S Zichawo Tel: (011) 298-2148 Fax: (011) 836-4132 shelton.zichawo@saiw.co.za

Executive secretary D Kreouzi

Technical services manager: A Reid Tel: (011) 298 2103 alan.reid@saiw.co.za

Tel: (011) 298-2102 Fax: (011) 836-6014 dimitra.kreouzi@saiw.co.za Finance and administration manager M Warmback Tel: (011) 298-2125 Fax: (011) 836-4132 michelle.warmbank@saiw.co.za

Qualificationandcertification manager H Potgieter Tel: (011) 298-2149 herman.potgieter@saiw.co.za

SAIW regional representatives

Western Cape representative L Berry

KZN representative A Meyer Tel: 083 787-5624 anne.meyer@saiw.co.za

Tel: (021) 555-2535 Fax: (021) 555-2517 liz.berry@saiw.co.za

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November 2015

AFRICAN FUSION