You may have encountered an electronic repair channel on YouTube run by Louis Rossmann who also runs Rossman Repair Group in New York. While we highly recommend giving his videos a watch, among the Apple repair videos you might spot a few videos regarding the right to repair.

As the phrase suggest, the right to repair is the fight to allow you to go anywhere you want to repair your electronics when they are no longer covered by a warranty.

When it comes to Apple notebooks and smartphones however, repairs aren’t as simple as some other brands. Whether it’s getting your hands on circuit diagrams or even just spare parts, in the past you’d have to go directly to Apple to get your gear fixed.

That is changing however with the global rollout of Apple’s Independent Repair Provider program.

This program grants repairers access to Apple parts, tools, repair manuals and everything else needed to safely and reliably offer Apple repairs.

“All participating repair providers in the program have access to free training from Apple and the same genuine parts, tools, repair manuals, and diagnostics as Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs) and Apple Store locations,” said the Cupertino colossus.

Repairers can join the Independent Repair program for free but there are stipulations.

The first is that the business must commit to having a certified Apple repair technician on site to perform repairs. A certification is the next stipulation but it’s easy enough to earn. The certification Apple requires can be earned through an online course and, while there is a fee, that fee is waived for businesses which are an approved Independent Repair Provider.

You can read more about the program here.

The program will be open for applications from South Africa later this week with rapid expansion planned throughout the year. Apple says that the program will eventually be available in every country where Apple products are sold.

For Apple customers, you can visit this section of the Apple website to find Independent Repair Providers who have been certified by the firm.