The Miracle of Training in Event Management

ABSTRACT

The Event Management Training Program developed for South Africa's Tourism Learnership Project National Certificate in Tourism: Event Support NQF Level 4 was designed to deliver a relevant, accurate, valid, and reliable program of study for learners in the field of event management and event tourism. This case study encompasses 240 learners in the Tourism Learnership Project, 300 community volunteers at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, and 2,500 volunteers trained against four unit standards registered on the National Qualification Framework for the ICC Cricket World Cup.

The pilot of the Tourism Learnership Project in Event Support has been an unbelievable and amazing project during which we have witnessed the miracle of young, previously unemployed South Africans growing in knowledge, self-esteem, and confidence to emerge as wageearning, valuable, and respected new entrants into the event industry. The training has provided them with a solid foundation of event management knowledge and a host of core tourism industry knowledge ranging from South African tourism, heritage, and sustainable tourism knowledge through the basics of operating in a business, occupational health and safety, HIV/AIDS, and the prime focus of customer care so essential for the success of the South African tourism industry.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the development and implementation of an entry-level event management-training program and the effect it had on participants in the pilot programs of the Tourism Learnership Project in Event Support and others in relation to the goals of the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) mission.

Key Words:

• Events
• training
• South Africa