MAINTENANCE2011

Investing together in competence development is a must.

Belgium is one of the leading countries in the field of pipelines. The port of Antwerp houses one of the largest clusters of process lines in the world. This seems logical, especially when considering the large number of chemical and petrochemical companies that are active there. But there are also all the other companies such as transshipment, food or pharmaceutical companies, to name but a few. In fact, every company needs pipelines to make production run smoothly.

That is why BIS ROB Montagebedrijf N.V., Fabricom, ISS Industrial Services N.V. and VDAB (Flemish Employment and Vocational Training Service) decided to invest in additional training capacity for pipe fitters. To this end, they signed a long-term partnership agreement and created the PipeTech Academy in 2009. Agoria vzw later joined to boost the impact of the agreement. They are also examining the possibility of organising a 3^rd grade technical secondary education in pipe fitting within the regular education system. Furthermore, in collaboration with VDAB and third-party organisations, they are investigating the potential of skilled foreign job seekers to see whether a specific training programme could be developed for this group. With the accession of SPIE Belgium N.V. in 2011, the PipeTech Academy is even better equipped to tackle the acute shortage of qualified pipe fitters.

MAINTENANCE 2011 will devote special attention to the PipeTech Academy. A production environment will be simulated on the exhibition floor, where all pipe fitter skills will be demonstrated. It will also be a great opportunity for you to show off your technical expertise. The programme will be supplemented with theoretical sessions on the situation and the objectives of this highly relevant initiative.