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WELDERS ARE A DIME - A DOZEN BUT QUALITY WELDERS ARE NOT Apprenticeships are a key way to solve South Africa’s skills and employment crisis
Welders it seems are a dime a dozen but highly
understand the need for suitably qualified and
skilled welders are not. This is the stark reality
experienced trainers within their institutions,
facing
sector
who follow clearly outlined training guidelines
according to SAIW Executive Director John
in properly equipped facilities. In addition,
Tarboton who is concerned about the number of
certification bodies do not always understand
fly by night training institutions that churn out
the need for properly trained assessors with a
graduates without the proper qualifications in
proper understanding of Codes and Standards
place. This wastes students’ hard-earned or even
underwritten by objective assessments
the
South
African
industrial
borrowed financing and sends out a generation of unqualified welders into the marketplace.
“As a result what we are increasingly seeing is
This results in situations like that found during
students who have already completed training at
the construction of the Medupi Power Station
other institutions coming to us to gain the proper
where 150 Taiwanese welders were employed for
certified, government recognised training after
specialised welding work due to a lack of local
battling to find or keep employment due to a lack
skills in this specialised field which is certainly not
of skills.
an acceptable situation. He adds that this is especially worrying given the This is made worse within the context of South
danger this poses to the quality of the installations
Africa’s
(Stats
or projects or products that they work on prior to
SA) equating to 7.6-million people without
achieving the appropriate level of skill. The training
work. However, even when welders seek out
of welders needs to be given the respect it is due.
employment; anecdotally what we have found,
Welding is an essential skill to manufacturing
is that out of ten interviewed, only one will
and fabrication in strategic sectors such as
be sufficiently qualified for the job. Tarboton
power generation, chemical processing and
comments;
construction, transportation, food and beverage
34.9%
unemployment
“Unfortunately
this
rate
stems
from
the issue that training providers do not always
and mining.
