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GETTING YOUR RIVER
GUIDE TICKET
Qualifiying
through South Africa's system for tourism guides
One way to get trained is to be
mentored by experienced guides on the river, and then
submit for assessment for the national tourism authority
guide qualification. This approach has the advantage of
ensuring that the trainee gets plenty of river time,
which is essential to become familiar with all the risks
and unknowns of the job. The approach may, but does not
necessarily involve, formal training. For operators, it
offers an alternative to having to set up courses for
trainees onsite or send the trainees away on courses.
So long as everyone is on the same
page and understands what the requirements are, it
should be possible use the system to advance guide
training rapidly. It will get up the numbers of
qualified people, who are the moment are few and far
between.
There are fully accredited
training providers who offer courses for the Theta
qualifications, but our reading of things is that one
does not necessarily have to go to these trainers.
Provided a trainee learns from experts, on and off the
river, it should be possible to submit for and pass the
assessment. I have been in touch with accredited
assessors who are willing to conduct the tests.
LATEST
OPPORTUNITIES
To develop the potential of
experiential training and mentoring I have been involved
in discussions with some operators. We are workshopping
the requirements and I have been asked to offer inputs
to the national tourism authority. I am no longer a
trainer myself, and I am not an assessor for the system
either. But because I wrote the only
book on whitewater
rafting techniques to be published in South Africa, now
used internationally, I do have some insights to offer!
Read about the latest
opportunities for experiential training on my
riverblog. I keep the blog updated with what's
happening out there and will happily add your news too.
Meanwhile, here's some background and discussion on the
existing national qualifications.
NQF SYSTEM
The National Qualifications
Framework (NQF) was established by government and is
supported by the private sector. There are Sector
 Education
and Training Authorities or SETAs for most industries.
In the tourism field, including adventure tourism of all
kinds, the Seta is called the Tourism, Hospitality
and Sport Education and Entertainment Training
Authority, or
THETA. It administers skills programmes which are
specifically designed to improve standards of service
generally across tourism and contribute to national
development. In the sports field, safety as well as
service is of prime concern.
Among many other tourism
qualifications, Theta has drawn up a basic outline for
what it calls "Conduct a white water canoeing
experience". This set of so-called Unit Standards can be
read
here.
DEVELOPMENT
The Unit Standards are a good
beginning but they need development. For one thing, the
existing single set of standards is very basic and does
not provide for intermediate or advanced whitewater
guiding. One would not wish to trust a party of tourists
to a whitewater guide who has only the most basic
qualifications, especially on tricky rivers that can
rise suddenly - as many of our rivers do. Operators need
competent leaders and skilled rescuers, battle-hardened
by experience.
Also, there are some problems with
the "canoeing" Unit Standards as they are currently
worded - starting with the name itself. Canoeing
is not generally what whitewater guiding is all about.
One thinks of a canoe as either the Indian-style open
boat, or the racing canoe used on the Dusi Marathon and
other amateur events in South Africa, canoes otherwise
known as K1s (single seaters) or K2s (doubles). Also,
these days, canoes may be sit-on-tops of the type used
on the Vaal. Rafting and kayaking are the
correct terms for the whitewater craft normally employed
on our rivers.
- Rafts are generally
two-seater paddle-yourself Crocodiles, but when the
river is bigger then larger 4-8 seater paddled
inflatables are used, often with a guide onboard. On
the Zambezi and other exciting high-volume waters,
oarboats are used.
- Kayaks are not the long
pencil-like K1 or K2 fibre-glass craft, but shorter,
stubby-nosed plastic "playboats" which the skilled
paddler can throw around in river holes. These boats
are ideal for scouting the river and doing limited
rescues, such as towing swimmers to the bank.
The existing unit standards say
that the whitewater guide should have an ability to "roll
a canoe in Grade 3 water". The term should be kayak, and
it is certainly not necessary for a guide specialising
in rafting to Eskimo roll a raft - which isn't possible
anyway! There is no provision in the existing standards
to differentiate between canoe, raft and kayak guides.
So the standards need some work.
To Top
PRIOR LEARNING
There are
several advantages to the NQF system. "Recognition of
prior learning" or RPL, is given to anyone who has been
for some time working as a handlanger or assistant to
guides and has come to know the ropes. This has to be
assessed, naturally, but it does mean that those who
have done their time on the water can quickly advance to
guide status and leadership of groups.
LEARNERSHIPS
Another
possible gain from the system is that money is available
for learnerships. This implies that the accredited
operators who put their trainees forward for
learnerships can earn points and this translates into
funding. Quite a lot of administration is involved and
there has to be an authentic skills programme in place
before such learnerships are granted. Read up on Theta's
learnership guidelines
here.
To Top
OTHER REQUIREMENTS
Guides should be at least 18 years old, but long before
that could begin to earn the river time that will lead
to RPL. It's a good idea to start young.
Equipment
Guides generally have to equip
themselves with a full set of personal equipment.
Although operators do sometimes lend guides personal
equipment, this is not ideal as the guide needs to know
and maintain the gear that he or she uses on the river.
Equipment includes a good rescue
lifejacket, helmet, throwbag, prussik loops and
carabiners, dry bags, paddling jacket for cold days, and
a small medical kit. Kayak guides need their own plastic
whitewater kayaks with spraydeck, paddles, and buoyancy
bags. All guides these days carry cellphones and this
necessitates and which is rugged and suitable for
rescue situations. A cellphone with GPS is a bonus.
Driving licences
An ordinary passenger car licence
is necessary just to get around, but in addition the
properly qualified guide will have a public driver's
permit and a Code 10 truck or heavy vehicle licence.
Skills at 4X4 driving, and a knowledge of vehicle
mechanics would certainly help in remote settings.
First Aid
Basic Level 1 first aid is
absolutely fundamental and takes a day. It deals mainly
with CPR, fractures and wounds. But it is also
insufficient for anyone conducting an adventure
experience far from base and without communications or
backup. Level 3 first aid - a course that can take 3
days to a week - is an essential qualification. Some
leaders go on to a full 3-month paramedical course, and
this is likely to become an advanced requirement in
South Africa as it has become in America.
Knowledge
General reading into adventure
literature, geographical and map-using skills, and
knowledge of the environment, wildlife and local
cultures and languages are not just add-ons. They form
part of the guide's job of enriching the client
expereince. Guides must work at these background skills
and operators need to ensure that they do.
Catering, cleanliness and camp
management are also part of the job. Handling food with
dirty river water present is likely to cause upset
stomachs which in turn lead to dehydration and this can
endanger the party's safety.
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