The Durban branch held its last Technology Evening of 2011 on 7 December at the Westville Country Club. It was attended by key members and senior staff from Durban’s learning institutions and was hosted by Yokogawa who provided specialist speaker, Bruce Bonte, its current training facilitator for Africa.
Bruce (r) being thanked by branch chairman John Owen-Ellis after the presentation
Bruce gave a presentation entitled ‘A model to combat the skills shortage’. 22 year’s experience as an instrument mechanician in the process control and instrumentation arena helped to give his talk a well-received practical emphasis as he described the 3-year internship model which Yokogawa offer to promising students. It was generally acknowledged that South African industry has battled to find appropriately skilled people to employ in the field of automation and the approach as presented by Bruce has shown that it is capable of producing some much-needed skilled human resources.
The topic generated considerable discussion during which it was evident that there is much uncertainty surrounding changes to technical training courses and qualifications. Concerns were expressed about how appropriate these changes might, or might not, be to the production of suitable potential employees for the benefit of both individuals and industry. Internship certainly makes a positive contribution and more initiatives of a similar nature could only benefit the country by producing people who have had the opportunity of gaining their practical experience in a structured manner under expert guidance.
SAIMC: From the office of the CEO SAIMC
SAIMC
The INSPIRE Conference 2026 brought industry and academia together to explore advances in automation, AI, mechatronics and engineering. It also marked a new direction for the SAIMC as it works to build future-ready engineering talent and strengthen South Africa’s automation industry.
Read more...SAIMC Durban takes to the skies SAIMC
SAIMC
SAIMC Durban members went behind the scenes at the ATNS facility at King Shaka International Airport. The visit offered a fascinating look at the sophisticated technology and highly trained people keeping South Africa’s skies safe.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
At the SAIMC Durban branch September 2026 technology meeting, Werner Das of SICK explored how deep learning is moving industrial machine vision beyond rule-based systems into practical, everyday quality control on the factory floor.
Read more...SAIMC: From the office of the COO SAIMC
SAIMC
The recognition of mechatronics and computer engineering has created both an opportunity and a responsibility. Recognition means little without participation, professional registration without professional conduct, and technical knowledge without the mentorship, implementation and measurable value that industry needs.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
Hendrik Spies of SICK Automation Southern Africa presented at the SAIMC Johannesburg Technology Evening on 12 August 2026, covering the digital journey from condition monitoring to predictive maintenance.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The SAIMC Durban branch hosted S’yabonga Langa, systems performance engineer at eThekwini Electricity, who presented on applying substation automation to improve operational efficiency and service quality in modern power distribution networks.
Read more...SAIMC INSPIRE 2026 brings together industry, robotics and research
SAIMC
The inaugural SAIMC INSPIRE Conference will bring together the industrial automation, robotics and academic communities for two days of presentations, panel discussions and networking, and will explore developments in smart manufacturing, mining, robotics
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version