ISTT launches online courses for international market

Grahamstown, E. Cape, SA – This year, the International School of Tanning Technology will become just that – international – and our first 2 foreign customers have signed up before we launch.
All our courses have been redeveloped for online tuition.

Given the shock announcement last year that the University of Northampton will close its Institute of Creative Leather Technology (ICLT), formerly known as Nene College, in mid-2025, ISTT’s new format has made it a potential source of training courses for the international tanning industry.

ISTT was part of many discussions throughout 2024 on the global future of leather education and training, and it has been under pressure to get its courses online.

This is essentially a relaunch for ISTT.

Local student numbers dropped by 75% with the lockdown in 2020, and didn’t recover to previous levels afterwards. Many South African tanneries seem to rely on the expertise of chemical supply companies rather than investing in their own skills. Just as bad, many local students also seem to be uninterested in improving their skills.

This is really worrying for the future of the tanning industry in South Africa.

Our future is the world.