Defining a Nature Guide Before we can even speak about skills intelligence data, need to find an appropriate definition of a nature guide! The Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO) does not capture a Nature Guide at all! Closest occupation is – Tour Guide

Defining a Nature Guide Definition of – Tour Guide - “escorts visitors on sightseeing, educational or other tours, and describes and explains points of interest.” Does this adequately capture a Nature Guide? The specializations or alternative titles also do not include a nature guide but does include - Inbound Tour Operator, Regional Guide, Sightseeing Guide, Tour Controller, Tour Coordinator, Tour Director, Tour Escort and Tour Leader.

Importance of OFO The inclusion of Nature Guides in the OFO is crucial as this is the primary skills planning mechanism of South Africa, therefore if Nature Guides are not included they will not be planned for and therefore not included in education and training interventions that are subsequently implemented.

Proposed Action Plan OFO Version 2012 – latest version released March this year and will only update bi-annually, so next version will be in 2014.CATHSSETA is responsible for updating the occupations that fall under it’s scope and therefore will be reviewing and updating occupations where necessary in Opportunity to partner with ASLF to conduct research to (1) to ensure that Nature Guides are included in the OFO either as part of or separately (2) document the career path of a nature guide to understand the skills and experience required for progression from entry level to become a nature guide and also how a nature guide progresses on to other occupations such a supervisor and manager.

Additional Research Required WSP & ATR submitted is the primary data source for skills planning. But how credible? SMME are excluded therefore Tourist Guide and Nature Guide data is inaccurate. Current WSP & ATR data indicates that: Occupation African Male African Female Coloured Male Coloured Female Indian Male Indian Female White Male White Female Total Male Total FemaleTotal Tour Guide

Additional Research Required Therefore in addition to the OFO and career path research, CATHSSETA in partnership with ASLF need to conduct research to quantify the number of nature guides working in the sector, determine their skills levels and assess their skills needs. Once this research has been conducted there will also be an opportunity to conduct a labour market analysis to determine if there is an under or oversupply of nature guides in the sector and if their skills match the requirements of employers.

Way Forward CATHSSETA and African Safari Lodge Foundation sign an MoU (similar to the MoU between GreenMatter & CATHSSETA) to formalise their partnership so that the suggested research can be planned for and conducted.

Thank You Sandhurst office Park, 3rd Floor, Block E C/r Katherine & Rivonia Roads Sandton P O Box 1329 Rivonia 2128   