diff --git a/src/sparseml/pytorch/image_classification/utils/helpers.py b/src/sparseml/pytorch/image_classification/utils/helpers.py
index b7f38114c68..6734093b1fc 100644
--- a/src/sparseml/pytorch/image_classification/utils/helpers.py
+++ b/src/sparseml/pytorch/image_classification/utils/helpers.py
@@ -370,13 +370,14 @@ def save_model_training(
     :param arch_key: if provided, the `arch_key` will be saved in the
         checkpoint
     """
-    has_top1 = "top1acc" in val_res.results
-    metric_name = "top-1 accuracy" if has_top1 else "val_loss"
-    metric = val_res.result_mean("top1acc" if has_top1 else DEFAULT_LOSS_KEY).item()
-    print(
-        f"Saving model for epoch {epoch} and {metric_name} "
-        f"{metric} to {save_dir} for {save_name}"
-    )
+    if val_res is not None:
+        has_top1 = "top1acc" in val_res.results
+        metric_name = "top-1 accuracy" if has_top1 else "val_loss"
+        metric = val_res.result_mean("top1acc" if has_top1 else DEFAULT_LOSS_KEY).item()
+        print(
+            f"Saving model for epoch {epoch} and {metric_name} "
+            f"{metric} to {save_dir} for {save_name}"
+        )
     exporter = ModuleExporter(model, save_dir)
     exporter.export_pytorch(
         optim,
diff --git a/src/sparseml/pytorch/image_classification/utils/trainer.py b/src/sparseml/pytorch/image_classification/utils/trainer.py
index e781e91e9ac..0fde1522a6f 100644
--- a/src/sparseml/pytorch/image_classification/utils/trainer.py
+++ b/src/sparseml/pytorch/image_classification/utils/trainer.py
@@ -124,7 +124,9 @@ def __init__(
 
         self.optim_name = optim_name
         self.epoch = 0
-
+        self._device_context = ModuleDeviceContext(
+            use_mixed_precision=self.use_mixed_precision,
+        )
         if self.train_loader is not None:
             (
                 self.epoch,
@@ -170,6 +172,10 @@ def run_one_epoch(
         train_mode = mode == "train"
         validation_mode = not train_mode
 
+        if torch.__version__ < "1.9" and self.manager.qat_active(epoch=self.epoch):
+            # switch off fp16
+            self._device_context.use_mixed_precision = False
+
         if validation_mode:
             return self._run_validation_epoch(
                 max_steps=max_steps,
@@ -225,15 +231,14 @@ def _initialize_scheduled_optimizer(self):
         return epoch, optim, manager
 
     def _initialize_module_trainer(self):
+
         trainer = ModuleTrainer(
             module=self.model,
             device=self.device,
             loss=self.train_loss,
             optimizer=self.optim,
             loggers=self.loggers,
-            device_context=ModuleDeviceContext(
-                use_mixed_precision=self.use_mixed_precision,
-            ),
+            device_context=self._device_context,
         )
         _LOGGER.info(f"created Module Trainer: {trainer}")