PUSHING FOR PROFFESIONAL STANDARDS WITH SACIA

The audiovisual industry has experienced rapid and dramatic change over the past decade. The use of AV technology has expanded and audiovisual technologies are now being used in a broad spectrum of activities including business, education, government, worship, retail, healthcare and many more areas.

Simultaneously, there has been a technological swing toward IP-based technologies that require professionals in the audiovisual industry to acquire new skills if they want to remain up-to-date and be able to provide meaningful solutions to their customers.
 
However, many of the integrators in the AV market have not kept pace with the advances, relying on established reputations to bring them new business and then being unable to deliver the goods.

Customers are increasingly reliant on professional AV integrators to provide a comprehensive solution that includes installation, training, maintenance and support. Because of the failure of so many AV integrators to provide such a service, many customers around the world are demanding that integrators comply with international standards.

SACIA (South African Communications Industries Association) is a member-driven organisation that represents professional AV companies that have committed to truth, honesty and the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of the audiovisual profession. SACIA has now entered into a partnership with InfoComm International to provide an on-going programme of training and skills-development based on the ISO/IEC 17024 certification standard. InfoComm International is an ISO-registered standards generating body which was established in 1940 and has been promoting the adoption of professional standards for 70 years.

In South Africa, the State IT Agency, SITA, has mandated that all vendors of audiovisual technology who want to supply equipment to government and state-owned enterprises must be able to prove that they have a thorough understanding of the science and technology behind the equipment.

SITA has identified InfoComm's ISO-registered CTS credential as the professional benchmark that proves an individual's competence in the audiovisual industry, and the organisation is working to provide training that will allow industry professionals to earn the CTS credential in this country.
 
As part of Infocomm’s global AV Week initiative, a worldwide outreach programme designed to highlight the benefit of AV technology in the broad business market is being offered in October.

For more information contact Kevan Jones at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit SACIA’s website www.sacia.org.za