BINTULU: A Non Destructive Test (NDT) programme which is the first in Borneo will be introduced at Advanced Technology Training Centre (Adtec) Bintulu by the end of this year.

This was disclosed by its director Dr Ramli Rashidi, who said the new programme is part of its plan to ensure Adtec Bintulu remain relevant as a high performance Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institution and to ensure it can meet the huge demand from the oil and gas sector in Sarawak.

“We are technically ready to start this new programme soon with the facilities and expertise almost ready and the only thing now is to do the final set-up.

“NDT skills have high commercial value in the country and it will be an advantage for those who have NDT certificate. Therefore, Adtec Bintulu will be offering NDT Level 1 to Level 3,” he said.

As part of their early preparation to set up the NDT centre here, he said several lecturers from Adtec Bintulu had been sent to the centres in Peninsular Malaysia that offer NDT training to obtain the Level 4 NDT certification which is accredited by Petronas.

For the programme, he added, Adtec will only charge a minimal fee to make sure everyone can afford the course without compromising on quality.

From a special talk on NDT that he attended in Kuala Lumpur recently, he said they were informed that the fee to get the NDT certificate in the United Kingdom was RM60,000.

According to him, the main objective is to equip students with the NDT professional skills to enable them to enter the field which is considered critical in Malaysia and globally.

“The demand for experts in this field is basically in the oil and gas, aviation, maritime and transportation sectors,” he added.

Ramli said the programme will also be open for industrial workers interested to improve their knowledge and skills.

The four NDT disciplines that will be offered are magnetic tester (level 1 and 2), ultrasonic tester (level 1 and 2), particle tester (level 1 and 2) and radiographic tester (level 1 to 3).