Company Announcement - The SA Paint Manufacturing Association has been granted government accreditation for the important Surface Coatings Technology training course presented by its training arm, the SA Paint Training Institute. Mandy Linossi, Training Administrator of SAPMA, says the long-awaited accreditation was granted in May this year by the Government-funded quality organisation, the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations, which was established in 2010 in terms of the Skills Development Act. The Council oversees the design, implementation, assessment and certification of occupational qualifications in industry.

SAPITI's Surface Coatings Technology has for many years been a highly respected, internationally-recognised  training course which has offered members of the coatings industry the chance of obtaining meaningful advanced certification. "But in the past the students' employers  have had to pay for their studies without the benefit of claiming subsidies back from the government. In difficult economic times, this has led to companies being reluctant to sponsor employee studies. So the new accreditation - with the facility of government sponsorship - is a huge step forward towards the uplifting of skills in the coatings sector," Linossi stated. SAPITI's Surface Coatings Technology Course is aimed at a variety of operations in the coatings industry including staff working in QC laboratories, technical sales representatives, and raw material supplier representatives. The course is also suitable for staff with careers focussed on product development and  formulation, technical support, trouble shooting and problem solving. Deryck Spence, executive director of SAPMA, says that although the QCTO accreditation for the course is a notable achievement, SAPMA would now have to strive for quality accreditation for SAPITI itself so that the new SAPITI Training Centre being erected in Bedfordview will be designed and equipped to comply with all QCTO requirements.

The SAPITI Training Centre will offer multi-faceted Coatings Technology practical training in a specially designed laboratory fitted with equipment to match the SAPITI curriculum. The Centre will also house a new SAPITI inter-active video conferencing studio to provide coatings training for the retail sector. “This web-based training will enable SAPITI to raise the standard of professionalism, technology and practical knowledge of retail sales and advisory staff to grapple back control of the retail market from mass merchandisers who have commoditised paint in an alarming fashion,” Spence added. “It will also provide the retail market with the training it now urgently needs to comply with Consumer Protection Act legislation.”

Spence said that, seeing the paint contracting market was sadly not committed – despite SAPMA providing all that was required to train their staff – in uplifting the skills of the paint applicators they employ, the consumer would in future at least gain some respite by obtaining advice on the correct methods of paint application from qualified retail sales staff. SAPITI’s new Training Centre will have access to the internationally-respected British Coatings Federation training modules and  offer technical tuition at advanced levels as well as for non-technical industry staff to improve their knowledge of coatings. BCF training is recognised by the City & Guilds Institute of London Institute which is accepted and respected worldwide.