07 June 2012

Concrete training courses in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth

The Cement & Concrete Institute (C&CI) will be presenting several training courses in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in June and July this year.

The C&CI’s School of Concrete Technology will present the following courses in Cape Town in mid-2012:
-    Concrete Practice – a four-day course, June 25 to 28;
-    Concrete Basics – a one-day course, July 30;
-    Properties of Concrete for the Structural Designer and Constructor – a one-day course, July 30; and
-    Durability of Concrete – a one-day course, July 31.

Petrus Jooste, education and training manager of C&CI, says, “Concrete Basics is suitable for anyone who needs to know the basic function of concrete. The longer Concrete Practice course is recommended for foremen, clerks-of-work, technicians, supervisors, sales and technical staff in the construction, mining and related industries.

“Properties of Concrete deals with common concrete defects and is aimed at senior staff in the design and construction industry. The Durability of Concrete course focuses on extending the lifespan of a concrete structure to the maximum,” Jooste explains.  

The training courses to be run in Port Elizabeth include:
-    Introduction to Concrete – a two-day course, July 23 and 24;
-    Mortars, Plasters, Screeds, and Masonry – a one-day course, July 25; and
-    Making Concrete Bricks and Blocks – a one-day course, July 26.

“Introduction to Concrete is aimed at small, medium and micro enterprises, junior technical and sales staff and anyone else wanting a short introduction to concrete. Mortars, Plasters, Screeds and Masonry is a course originally developed to assist NHBRC inspectors to interpret the requirements of the NHBRC Home Builder’s Manual and the course on Making Concrete Bricks provides a basic understanding of how to manufacture masonry units,” Jooste adds.

One of the School of Concrete Technology lecturers who will be presenting some of the courses is Matthews Magawaza. Magwaza speaks five African languages and, over the 16 years that he has worked at the institute, his multilingual abilities have proven to be an invaluable asset in the lecture room and the training laboratory.

More information and details on venues and times for the training courses can be obtained from the C&CI or the institute’s website.