AVK Academy gains traction in Africa

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September 2019 News

The Academy, the training arm of AVK Southern Africa, has taken the Group’s training into Africa. With training on basic and advanced valve fundamentals recently concluded at Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company in Zambia, there are training appointments in Lesotho, Mozambique and Botswana for the remaining year. Training in Malawi is planned for 2020.

AVK Academy graduates from Mulonga Water and Sewerage pictured with Roelf Frauendorf (back left).

Each module, which consists of two days comprehensive training, is ECSA-accredited and worth two CPD points for candidates who achieve the 85% pass rate, or higher. The basic course provides an introduction to acquire essential knowledge of valves in both theory and practice, while the advanced course provides greater insight into principles and practices that address the theories of fluid pressure, fluid flow and field applications.

The AVK Academy, which opened its doors in late 2016, offers training at its state-of-the-art facility in Johannesburg, as well as at client companies’ premises. The facility caters for up to 40 people, however, for on premises training, 30 is the preferred number. External training is conducted approximately five times a year, more when demand increases, with ten being the minimum number of candidates required for a course.

“There are some fundamental differences between local training and training in Africa,” explains facilitator, Roelf Frauendorf. “When conducting training locally, candidates have time for additional practical experience between the fundamental and advanced courses, whereas over-border, the two courses are run back-to-back.”

The Academy’s facilities include a flow laboratory, which demonstrates the flow of water through a series of valves, with candidates physically handling the valves on which they are trained. Frauendorf says that for offsite training, in lieu of available equipment, more discussion is given to the practical aspects of the course. “We include a lot more visuals and spend more time on typical examples,” he explains. “Many of these result in in-depth discussions, for which we do not limit time, and the resultant interactive Q&A; often leads to other discussions on the subject. Upon course completion, all externally trained candidates are as au fait with AVK’s product range as those who attend the Academy.”

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AVK Academy gains traction in Africa

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