Dorah Monkwe, currently a trainee at Endress+Hauser, recently graduated with her National Diploma Instrumentation from Tshwane South FET College. Dorah was the top student in Practical Instrumentation in 2008, where she received the Endress+Hauser trophy for Process Automation and a cheque for R10 000. For the past year, Dorah has been acquiring the necessary skills for her chosen profession as she completes her internship as a trainee field service technician at Endress+Hauser.
She explains in her own words: “I have been visiting different plants and being exposed to different kind of customer problems which had to be solved. This training includes going to the field to help customers with breakdowns on instrumentation, commissioning of new installed instruments for food, pharmaceutical, breweries and petrochemical industries as well as internal repairs. I am also enhancing my troubleshooting and problem solving skills while completing loop repairs, calibration and ranging of instruments with both HART and PROFIBUS and finally giving recommendations to customers regarding their applications.
“Currently we are calibrating and commissioning a new brewery plant. Here I have performed instrument installation checks with two local Endress+Hauser technicians, as well as two from Germany who taught us to use a new calibration instrument called the Beamex.
“I recently graduated obtaining my National Diploma in instrumentation in 2009. I would like to thank Endress+Hauser for the opportunity they granted me to do my in-service training with them and wish the company all the best.”
Once the students have completed their internship, many of them are offered permanent employment at Endress+Hauser. Students are also often retained as temporary staff until Endress+Hauser can find employment for them at their key customers or other suppliers in the industry.
People development has always been as important to Endress+Hauser as the development of new technology. “We encourage active participation and employee growth and are committed to the development of the people of South Africa,” says MD Rob MacKenzie. “In keeping with this philosophy, we believe skills development forms one of the cornerstones of the development of our country and our company.”
To this end, Endress+Hauser has spearheaded the establishment of the Dr Georg Endress Training Facilities at the Tshwane South FET College, the Thekwini FET College, the Namibia Institute of Mining & Technology and, most recently, at the University of Johannesburg. The initial impetus behind these projects was to address the skills shortages that have led to instrumentation being declared a scarce skill in South Africa. Each training facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technology that provides process instrumentation training and covers the entire field of automation.
For more information contact Hennie Blignaut, Endress+Hauser, +27 (0)11 262 8000, info@za.endress.com, www.za.endress.com
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