COVENTRY, UK — The British Coatings Federation (BCF) and the China National Coatings Industry Association (CNCIA) signed a long-term training agreement on March 27 in Puyang, China, at the 2019 China Coatings Summit.

The Coatings Training Institute (CTI), launched by the BCF in 2014, has delivered specialist coatings and printing ink training via distance learning to hundreds of students in over 20 countries around the world.

With growing demand for educating the large number of new entrants to the coatings industry in China, CNCIA and BCF have signed a long-term cooperation agreement to launch the Coatings Training Institute in China.

BCF CEO Tom Bowtell said, “I am proud and honored that CNCIA will be using our British training program as the basis of the new Coatings Training Institute in China, and I will ensure that we give support to CNCIA, particularly in the first few weeks and months, to ensure a smooth start to the project. We will also be here to support CNCIA in the years to come, as we believe in long-term relationships.”

CNCIA will now begin the work to build the CTI proposition for China, including translating all training materials, creating a dedicated online study portal, and hiring local tutors to support the student’s study.

Commenting on the new agreement, Madame Sun, President of CNCIA, said, “After more than two years of discussions and negotiation with the BCF, we finally reached an agreement to launch the online training program CTI in China. We believe that talent cultivation is the most important issue for the coatings industry in China, and the well-established CTI modules from BCF will help with the long-term development of our industry. With strong support from BCF, we will realize the localization of the whole online system soon - CNCIA and BCF will work closely to develop the future talent of the coatings industry in China.”