In a matter of weeks, there will be a new intake at the SA College for Tourism. Specifically recruiting young and impoverished students, the college provides year-long courses to teach students highly sought-after skills for the tourism industry. After just a year, these graduates will be able to return to their communities as entrepreneurs with small tourism businesses, or to work as part of the local eco-tourism industry within or around conservation areas.
In the kitchens the students will be put through their paces. Their learning will cover all the essentials, such as how to make scones and sandwiches. But it will stretch them too, with trickier items such as gourmet burgers and show-stopping desserts also on the menu. They will be taught how to make everything up by hand using good quality ingredients. They will manage their own kitchen as well as learn how to work together in a team.
There are so many skills they will be equipped with over the coming year. Not only will they learn to cook, but they will also be trained in all aspects of hospitality. This will include how to manage the laundry, room services, and many other more advanced skills – such as reception desk etiquette – vital for one of the most important industries in southern Africa.
The SA College for Tourism is a non-profit organisation that operates under the auspices of the Peace Parks Foundation, with Werner Myburgh, CEO of Peace Parks Foundation, on the board. One of the keystones for establishing transfrontier conservation areas in southern Africa, is to create economically sustainable livelihood opportunities for people living in or adjacent to these parks. The college aims to train people in skills essential to the future of a sustainable approach to tourism as well as the landscape. And, with around 1 in 20 people directly relying on the tourism industry for employment in South Africa, the tourism sector is vital to southern Africa’s future and the Peace Parks Foundation’s mission. Starting in February this year, Peace Parks TV will be following the progress of selected students as they progress through the course and then onto new careers in southern Africa.
