CBI has announced that Mitsubishi Electric Automation Systems' Certified Engineer Programme is to be made available in South Africa. The programme, the first outside the UK, will be run by CBI's training partner, Pro Training.
Pro Training will operate the programme throughout sub-Saharan Africa; an important step in establishing, throughout the region, automation training qualifications comparable with those achieved in other parts of the world.
According to Pro Training's Tony Stevenson there are few standards for automation training and this programme, well proven in the UK, will provide a true test of technical ability. It is based on a series of examinations that cover a wide range of Mitsubishi Automation products, including programmable controllers, variable speed drives and human-machine interface (HMI) systems. While the examination questions relate to Mitsubishi products, their primary objective is to measure how well the candidates solve real-world problems.
John Renney of CBI elaborated: "There are no easy questions where the answers can be found simply by reading product literature. The examinations are designed to identify and provide recognition for those engineers who know how to integrate Mitsubishi products into automation systems, efficiently and cost-effectively. It is almost impossible for candidates to pass unless they have relevant practical experience." This programme provides proof of ability and means that anyone who works with Mitsubishi Certified Engineers can be sure that they have high levels of skill and expertise.
Course is not mandatory
Although Pro Training in South Africa will provide training courses to assist candidates in achieving Mitsubishi Certified Engineer status, attending these courses is not a requirement for taking the examinations. Candidates may, instead, choose to rely on their previous experience.
The courses will be designed to suit regional needs, but will, to a large extent, use the UK examination papers. Where changes to the examination questions are made, these will be closely monitored to make sure that uniformly high standards are maintained.
The Mitsubishi Certified Engineer Programme has been operating for two years in the UK and has received widespread recognition as a reliable measure of technical expertise, with several major specifiers now requiring systems integrators to employ Mitsubishi Certified Engineers if they wish to tender for automation projects.
CBI is the authorised distributor of the Mitsubishi Electric range of products. This range includes programmable logic controllers (PLCs), human machine interfaces (HMIs), variable speed drives (VSDs), servo drives, motion control and Mitsubishi motor control equipment (ie magnetic contactors, medium and high voltage vacuum contactors, thermal overload relays and electronic motor protection relays). A qualified team of sales engineers is able to advise customers and supply back-up support and service. All products carry a 12-month warranty.
For more information contact Shaun Loesch, Circuit Breaker Industries, 011 928 2000, cbi@cbi.co.za, www.cbi.co.za
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