As with any service or product being sold in a highly competitive industry, training and skills development are increasingly becoming more personalised to suit the unique needs of their markets. In step with this global development, Plastics|SA has for quite some time now, been offering personalised learning programmes and training modules for customers who specifically requested a modified version for their staff.

One such a recent example was the training offered to Pretoria-based Venture Diversified Products – a multi-faceted plastics manufacturing and design company that specialises in extrusion, vacuum forming, blow moulding and Injection Moulding.

“Venture asked us to customise a one-year learning programme for them, comprehensively covering all aspects of knowledge, practical skills and workplace experiential components of the Injection Moulding Machine Setter Occupation,” explains Kirtida Bhana, Training Executive at Plastics|SA.

Venture Plastics enrolled 13 learners, including unemployed graduates, in the programme which began in February 2018.

“We believe in providing our learners with world class skills for their practical and theoretical training. For this reason, we devise very comprehensive training plans for our students, which include partnering with other service providers who specialise in various offerings as the need arises. Owing to the fact that knowledge and an understanding of pneumatics and hydraulics were vital to this group of learners, Plastics|SA called upon the assistance of Festo - a leading, global supplier of automation technology and the performance leader in industrial training and education programmes,” Kirtida says.

Living up to its international reputation for service and product excellence, Festo provided a fully equipped “classroom on wheels”, which remained parked at Plastics|SA’s premises for the duration of the training.“The Festo Mobile Mechatronics Lab (MML) treated the students to a highly-engaging experience, allowing them to interact with technology used in today’s advanced manufacturing environment. Both the students and the trainers thoroughly enjoyed getting out of the traditional training environment and being trained in this high tech mobile classroom. Not only did they derive the benefit of excellent theoretical grounding and lively group discussions, but they also got to experience first-hand the modern marvel of today’s advanced manufacturing facilities - clean environments filled with skilled professionals operating all kinds of mechanical, electronic, and computer-based systems,” Kirtida concluded.

For more information, visit www.plasticsinfo.co.za/trainingENDS