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News Release from: Mitsubishi Electric Automation Systems
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 25 July 2005
Certified Engineer training operator
appointed
Pro Training in South Africa has been appointed by Mitsubishi Electric Automation Systems Division to operate the successful and well-respected Mitsubishi Certified Engineer Programme.
South African technology training specialist, Pro Training CC, has been appointed by Mitsubishi Electric Automation Systems Division as the first organisation outside the UK to operate the successful and well-respected Mitsubishi Certified Engineer Programme Pro Training will operate the programme throughout the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, and sees it as an important step in establishing automation training standards for the region, with qualifications that can be compared directly with those achieved in other parts of the world
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 8 May 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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"All training organisations in South Africa have to be registered with a Sector Education Training Authority," said Tony Stevenson, a director of Pro Training, "And that means conforming to specific subject-related standards.
At present, however, there are few standards for automation training," he continued.
"We are convinced that the Mitsubishi Certified Engineer Programme, which is well proven in the UK and which provides a genuine test of practical ability, will help us to establish those standards." Developed entirely in the UK, the Mitsubishi Certified Engineer Programme is based on a series of examinations which cover a wide range of Mitsubishi Automation products, including programmable controllers, variable speed drives and human-machine interface (HMI) systems.
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While the examination questions relate to Mitsubishi products, their primary objective is to measure how well the candidates solve real-world problems.
"There are no easy tick-box questions where the answers can be found simply by reading the product literature," said Chris Evans, who oversees the operation of the Certified Engineer Programme in the UK.
"The examinations are designed to identify and provide recognition for those engineers who know how to integrate Mitsubishi products into automation systems, efficiently and cost effectively.
It is, therefore, almost impossible for candidates to pass unless they have relevant practical experience," he continued.
"This may sound tough, but it means that anyone who works with Mitsubishi Certified Engineers can be sure that they have high levels of skill and expertise.
Providing this proof of ability was our key objective in developing the programme." Although Mitsubishi in the UK and Pro Training in South Africa provide training courses to assist candidates in achieving Mitsubishi Certified Engineer status, attending these courses is not a requirement for taking the examinations.
Candidates may, instead, choose to rely on their previous experience.
Pro Training is developing its own courses to suit regional needs, but will, to a large extent, use the UK examination papers.
Where changes to the examination questions are necessary, these will be closely monitored by the UK organisation to make sure that uniformly high standards are maintained.
Two years into its operation in the UK, the Mitsubishi Certified Engineer Programme is receiving widespread recognition as a reliable measure of technical expertise, with several major specifiers now requiring systems integrators to employ Mitsubishi Certified Engineers if they wish to tender for automation projects.
The South African example is the first step in the globalisation of the programme, and organisations in several other countries are planning to adopt it in the near future. Request free introductory details about products from Mitsubishi Electric Automation Systems ...
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