As we close out the year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the progress we’ve made at the SAIW. It’s been a demanding year, but it’s also been one marked by real movement and steady improvement.

We’ve stabilised our daily operations, modernised key systems and strengthened the foundations of our certification work. The restructuring process was difficult but necessary, and it’s helped ease the operational pressure that held us back for some time.

Our digital transformation has also gained real traction. The new SAIW website is now a functional portal for students, members and clients. The cloud-based student management system and the Learning Management System have started to change the way we deliver and manage training. These tools make registration, learning and communication clearer and faster, and they set us on the path to improving turnaround times and customer experience

We’ve also modernised  Company Certification processes. Updating the certification infrastructure and introducing a digital auditing system has made ISO 3834 certification more accessible and more efficient.

Training activity continued to grow, with rising enrolments across Welding Coordination, Welding Inspection, Practical Welding, NDT and other courses. We added new training, including the Introduction to Laser Welding course, and strengthened our technical support through the Materials Testing Laboratory and our consultancy services.

This year also marked a major step toward building national capacity in advanced NDT methods. Through our cooperation with NEC­SA and the IAEA, our team completed the first phase of ToFD training, with PAUT training scheduled for early next year. This positions us to offer advanced NDT training independently in the near future.

Thank you to every student, client, colleague and partner who contributed to this progress. Your feedback, commitment and resilience helped move the Institute forward. We invite you to keep sharing your suggestions through the communication channels on our new website.

We look forward to continuing this work in the new year and building on the momentum we’ve created together.

Confidence Lekoane
Technical and Training Manager, SAIW