With South Africa's eco-tourism stature, field guiding is definitely a lucrative career choice as professional training is affordable and valuable. As with demand, training is offered by various institutes in South Africa. Post training, many guides have achieved great success in their careers with some branching into game lodge management, photography and tour operating.
If a career in the lodge industry appeals sounds interesting, it is important to know that facts before pursuing training, according to Schalk Pretorius of Ulovane Environmental Training.
Registration a necessity
As an expert in providing world renowned training for over 15 years, he says all guides must be registered with the National Department of Tourism and in order to register must have a Field Guide Association of South Africa (FGASA) qualification or nature conservation diploma and certain FGASA requirements need to be met.
"The industry is well regulated so that the skill and academic requirements ensure that recipients of guiding involvement receive a quality experience conducted in a safe manner if all the necessary obligations have been met," says Pretorius. "It is important that they are FGASA accredited and that the courses on offer are In accordance with the FGASA requirements."
Pretorius and wife, Candice, established Ulovane Training in 2005 and have been equipping students with the relevant skills to master the trade. Training environments that create a culture of conservation are preferable as this is fundamental to creating a sustainable game lodge industry. This coupled with hands on experience of solar powered camps, recycling, green principles, vehicle skills, vehicle maintenance and the opportunity to gain practical experience in a game lodge will also be of benefit.
"Our focus has been on creating an atmosphere similar to a four or five star game lodge and in order to achieve this, our students live in that environment for the duration of their course," explains Pretorius. "But the difference is that they contribute to maintaining it so that a sense of ownership becomes second nature."
Ulovane is located in close to Addo Elephant National Park and where information and learning material is sourced. Amakhala Game Reserve and Kariega Game Reserve are just two of the reserves where they operate in and students are given the opportunity to learn and explore on these two top reserves in the Eastern Cape. "We are also in the near vicinity of some of the most beautiful diverse marine areas and beaches, which allows us to offer a Marine Guide Specialist Course," says Pretorius.
