by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – A PARTNERSHIP between a global specialist in energy management and automation company as well as a South African manufacturer of educational engineering equipment is accelerating access to education in some Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries.
This partnership between Schneider Electric and Amtec Techniquip has grown significantly in the last four years, expanding its reach beyond South Africa’s borders to include countries such as Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It accelerates access to education through the provision of state-of-the-art training equipment such as didactic benches to tertiary institutions, to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
This forms a critical part of vocational training.
The Schneider Electric Foundation aims to train one million students in energy by 2025.
The evolving partnership now sees Amtec Techniquip extending its Schneider Electric didactic benches to include renewable energy (solar PV) benches.
A key part of the agreement is to provide locally manufactured and affordable didactic benches, incorporating high-quality Schneider Electric equipment, to education institutions and organisations.
Amtec Techniquip and Schneider Electric have reached various milestones including recently delivering the 50th training bench.
Furthermore, the companies have in the last four years solidified relationships with important educational facilities that include French Southern African Schneider Electric Education Centre (F’SASEC) network partners, providing these institutions with didactic benches.
“We feel extremely fortunate to play a role in delivering quality education equipment to some of the country’s foremost training institutions. As a South African company, it’s undoubtedly an important milestone and testament to our strong relationships with Schneider Electric,” said Roger Forte, sales director at Amtec Techniquip.
As part of the education equipment provision, Amtec and Schneider Electric also provide training material to the education partners, offering a rounded service enabling lecturers to deliver streamlined and effective training sessions.
“Whilst high-quality education equipment is important, it must also be aligned with the curriculum to ensure that when the students enter the workplace they are prepared to deal with everyday challenges,” said DL Steyl, Project Manager – Access to Education, Sustainable Development and Academy at Schneider Electric.
– CAJ News