Press Releases

• Great Reception for Murray & Roberts Cementation Training Academy Offering at A-OSH EXPO 2015

  Monday, 1 June 2015

  An emphasis on reacting to market needs has resulted in the development of a number of industry-specific training courses by the Murray & Roberts Cementation Training Academy. Initially developed to service the training requirements of Murray & Roberts Cementation employees, the courses are now offered to the industry in general.

  Underlining its philosophy of extended knowledge sharing, the Murray & Roberts Cementation Training Academy recently participated as an exhibitor at Africa’s premier occupational health and safety (OHS) exhibition – A-OSH Expo 2015, at Gallagher Convention Centre.

  Tony Pretorius, risk manager at the Murray & Roberts Cementation Training Academy, explains that the Academy has adopted a holistic applied competency model approach to training which incorporates e-Learning, visual based training, pre-simulation, simulation and on-site experience. “We felt that A-OSH Expo 2015 was the perfect forum to introduce the Academy’s courses to a wider base of customers. The ability to interact with almost 2 500 risk and safety professionals was an extremely valuable one.”

  While visitors showed interest in all of the Academy’s courses, the main thrust for this event was on the SHEQ skills programmes. These include the National Certificate in Occupational Health, Safety and Environment; Murray & Roberts Cementation SHE Risk Management Levels 2 and 3; Level 1 First Aid Training; Basic Fire Fighting; Incident Investigation; Working at Heights and the British Safety Council’s international certificate in OHS.

  Pretorius says that learners need to be equipped with both theoretical and practical skills in order to appropriately and correctly fulfil their job function in a safe manner. “Unfortunately this is not always the case in the learning environment, where one often finds an insistence on driving theory at the expense of practice. We have therefore customised our learning material in a manner which balances both critical elements in a blended approach.”

  The Academy’s courses are popular with industry as they successfully leverage the vast experience gained by Murray & Roberts Cementation in a number of mining applications over the years. “The ability to extrapolate this knowledge and expertise into a shared learning environment and to provide learners with access to our extensive infrastructure, are huge differentiators in the market,” says Pretorius.

  Pretorius was particularly pleased with the calibre of visitors to the Academy’s stand at A-OSH Expo 2015. “We have attended other shows, but this event was of a particularly high standard and definitely provided us with greater brand awareness and an unmatched opportunity to network with our potential clients. The cherry on top was winning the A-OSH Expo 2015 Best Stand Award in the under-12 m2 category.”