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Article by Siyathetha Communications
Twenty-year-old student Chris van Zyjl, originally from a farm outside Durbanville (Cape Town) with schooling at the East Cape Midlands FET College Welding Centre of Excellence, won the Carbon Steel welding, category, and took the overall title at the 2010 Young Welder of the Year competion organised by the Southern African Institute of Welding (SAIW) recently.
“It is a great honour for EMC and the welding programme to have accomplished this for a second time,” says EMC welding manager, Bruce Daniels. “I have to thank the other trainer for his hard work and efforts and also Chris for working hard and always doing the best he can.”
As part of the prize, Chris will compete in the 2011 WorldSkills event to be held in London in October next year.
“It is a great honour for me to be part of the South Africa team competing against the best of the world’s young welders,” says Chris. “First I have to achieve the required standard to compete against the rest of the world and that is going to take lots of hard work and practice, but I am looking forward to the challenge.”
The WorldSkills welding competition requires participants to perform four welding processes in three different material groups, namely carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminium; all which must be completed within three days. The main project is to produce a pressure vessel that can withstand a pressure of 1000psi without showing any leaks.
As preparation for this event, Chris will be under the guidance of SAIW’s training services manager, Etienne Nell, who will provide a programme of additional tasks which will be assessed on a monthly basis. If SAIW is then satisfied with his progress, Chris will be sent to compete in the 2011 WorldSkills event.
Daniels attributes EMC’s achievement of producing two national Young Welder of the Year titles in a row to both the students and the institution.
“I think that the success that EMC achieved comes from motivated and dedicated students who want to be the best, as well as a training facility like EMC that can assist in achieving that goal with the help of the SAIW.”
Chris first became interested in welding after learning from his father and grandfather on the family farm in the Boland. He began his formal training at West Coast College in Vredenberg before moving to the Uitenhage Eastcape Midlands College campus.
“The competition was tough, but I enjoyed every minute. This is a chance in a lifetime and I just had to make use of the opportunity. What is important to me is that you have to believe in yourself and that you should never give up. I also had to adapt to certain situations and conditions and make the best of it.”
Media release for Eastcape Midlands College
Contact: Eastcape Midlands College: Elmari van der Merwe: 041 9952016
Siyathetha: Ed Richardson: 041 582 3750/083 6569757
Article Tags: Carbon Steel welding, East Cape Steel
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