The Technical Training Centre at Knights, ACTOM’s main training facility, provided apprenticeship training for two groups of electrician apprentices from a company outside the group this year.
The total of 21 apprentices from a well-known Gauteng-based electrical equipment manufacturer comprised:
l 10 first-year apprentices who were given the initial six-months’ intensive practical training that is required at the start of their total three- to four-year apprenticeship, and
l 11 final-year apprentices for six weeks’ training to prepare for their final trade tests at the end of the year.
The Technical Training Centre provided all the members of this group with their initial first-year apprenticeship training in 2017.
The Technical Training Centre, which provides apprenticeship training for many ACTOM divisions and business units as its main function, 11 years ago, introduced apprenticeship training for companies outside the group that do not have training facilities of their own.
“We have to give priority to training of apprentices within the group, so in years when demand for apprenticeship training within the group is low we can accommodate more from other companies, which has been the case in 2020 when our internal intake of first-year apprentices in mid-February was a lot lower than normal at 21,” said Technical Training Manager Danie de Kock.
The 10 first-year electrician apprentices from the outside company and the electrician apprentices from among ACTOM’s own first-year apprentices were trained together. The ACTOM first-year trainees also included apprentices for other trades besides electricians, such as fitters & turners, armature winders and boilermakers.
Due to the severe restrictions placed on business activity nationwide by the Covid-19 lockdown in March, April and May this year, the first-year apprenticeship training was interrupted for 2-1/2 months and consequently finished at the end of November, instead of the usual timing of end-July each year.
The training of the second group of apprentices from the outside company started in mid-June and ended in early-October.