Company Announcement - The SA Paint Industry Training Institute is experiencing increasing demand for training with its newly-appointed Training & Development Manager, Pogiso Matlala, kept extremely busy responding to requests from several parts of South Africa. SAPITI is the training arm of the SA Paint Manufacturing Association.Matlala recently conducted special two-day paint application and packaging courses in Durban, Pretoria and Vereeniging for 68 people, of which 38 were unemployed. Another 42 unemployed were scheduled for training by the end of May 2015. SAPITI intends keeping a record of the unemployed men and women who have successfully completed training so that their names can be put forward should SAPMA applicator members seek new staff.

SAPMA members are generally showing renewed interest in training and staff members of companies such as Future Paints, Libra Paints, Shave Paints and BASF have received tuition in various subjects such as manufacturing, packaging, labelling, and the CHIETA-accredited Raw Materials Preparation Skills Programme recently. "In many cases, the companies were seeking assessment to  enable employees to obtain recognised qualifications. Recognition of Prior Learning assessment is one of the most effective ways that employees can complete such a qualification/skills programme without having to spend too much time out of the office. The SAPITI on-site assessment approach helps both employees and employers to achieve this pivotal training," Matlala explained. A new SAPMA member, Geo Paints in Potchefstroom, only recently started business operations but immediately sent eight students for  SAPITI Retailers' training.  

SAPITI's new Training & Development Manager also served in an advisory capacity for Dura Paints who required assistance in formulating Work Skills Development Plans and Annual Training Reports to enable the company to comply with legislation that governs training and development. This has also assisted the company to empower its employees through training and development.

Deryck Spence, executive director of SAPMA, says it should be remembered that included in SAPMA's overall mission - to promote the coatings industry as a responsible supplier of products and services - are SAPMA 's advisory services for members. "With the increasing complexity of government legislation and transformation regulations, such advice and practical on-site assistance have become vital for our members to maximise their profitability. We expect increasing demand for these advisory services which are provided free of charge to SAPMA members," Spence stated. SAPMA recently announced that it is  planning to establish a new permanent SAPITI Training Centre at its Bedfordview head office. Construction will start on the new facility later this year.