2021 WESSA Annual Review

WESSA TRAINING 2020/2021 has been a year with many trials and turbulences with the imposition of many National lockdown periods while embracing the new international lifestyle of this period of a global pandemic. Blended and online training has taken a toll in the Training Division. It has indeed been a period to reflect and to rethink our strategies as a Training Division. Many innovative techniques are employed during our pieces of training, from managing online group activities to virtual field trips. We have used platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Google Classroom to facilitate training and development. We have also incorporated ready-made lecture videos composed by our highly competent training managers during some of our training. The learners have appreciated this, especially as they have had to save on traveling and accommodation costs. We continue to develop more innovative training methods. We have trained from accredited full qualifications through accredited short skills programs to non-accredited short skills programs. We continuously thank our funders for having confidence in our training content, the training delivery, and its outcomes. The Balwin Foundation, The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), Tourism Blue Flag (TBF), Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), and individual participants who quest for environmental knowledge and skills have been the backbone towards our training funds this year. We have realized the need to train and develop environmental skills across different walks of life and careers during this year’s training, irrespective of their educational levels. We have received and successfully trained holders of Matric Certificates, Higher National Certificates and Diplomas, Undergraduate Degrees, Honors degrees, Master’s degrees, and P.hDs, respectively. We have upskilled a total of 244 participants across the fields of Eco-Tourism: Nature field Guide, Resource Guardianship, Environmental Practice, Environmental Impact Assessment, and Conduct Assessment of Outcomes-Based Education (The Assessors’ course). These participants are in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, The KZN provinces, and the Limpopo Province Eco-Tourism: Nature field guiding is an accredited course with CathsSETA, accredited with 73 credits. This course aims to upskill and equip learners to performNature Guiding Tour experiences in their province and implement conservation practices that enhance sustainable Tourism in South Africa. Each qualifying learner can register for a Tour Guiding Permit with the Department of Tourism in their Province. Learners are skilled to provide quality experiences to tourists and thus strengthen the profession and tourism in general. In addition, they are eligible to further their learning, practice, and career within the guiding sector, though, among others, the support and teamwork of members of the guiding industry. With a blended training mode, we adhere to the COVID 19 protocol. WESSA Training uses vast and well-ventilated class spaces, as can be seen in the classroom situation below.

We have used many innovative techniques in our training during lockdown; online group activities, virtual field trips and incorporated ready- made lecture videos.

We have upskilled a total of 244 participants across the fields of Eco-Tourism

Annual Review 2020-2021

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