Closing the skills gap: how WearCheck training boosts asset reliability

In workshops, plants and pits across Southern Africa, the craft of machinery maintenance is changing faster than many teams can keep up with.

Ever-tightening production targets, increasingly complex asset fleets and the rising cost of getting maintenance wrong all contribute to industrial inefficiency.

Often, the people charged with keeping mission-critical machinery running safely and efficiently have had limited access to structured modern training. This results in skills gaps in maintenance disciplines – the very skills that determine whether a gearbox lasts another overhaul cycle or whether a vehicle is parked idle to avoid component failure.

Condition monitoring specialist company WearCheck is tackling this skills gap head-on, offering a wide range of practical hands-on courses that cover various topics related to condition monitoring and maintenance. WearCheck technical manager Steven Lumley, who oversees the company’s extensive training programme, explains that the courses are designed to be practical, current and immediately useful.

“Continual advancements in condition monitoring and reliability practice mean teams need structured ongoing training,” says Lumley. Many of WearCheck’s 15 courses carry continuing professional development (CPD) points, giving both the learner and the employer external recognition.

Lumley reiterates the words of Henry Ford, the engineering pioneer behind the automotive superbrand: “The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.”

To book:

Mobius courses – Louis Peacock: louis@wearcheckrs.com / +27 82 494 9461

Oil analysis courses – Michelle van Dyk: training@wearcheck.co.za / +27 82 381 3321

2026 WearCheck OIL ANALYSIS training calendar:

Mobius courses at WearCheck

Mobius courses lead to accredited certification for asset reliability practitioners, condition monitoring specialists and precision maintenance technicians. All Mobius courses are presented at various venues throughout Africa. Courses can be presented online or on-site at a customer’s premises for a minimum of seven delegates.

2026 WearCheck MOBIUS training calendar (classroom / online):

*Additional on request: VCAT4, Ultrasound, IRCAT1