Tourism course boost for staff

A new tourism business qualification is expected to help smaller businesses retain promising staff and provide employees with more training options.
The Aviation, Tourism and Travel Training Organisation launched its Level 4 National Certificate in Tourism - Business Practice in Rotorua and Off Road NZ guide Sam Edmonds is one of the first to enrol in the course.
"I wanted to do it because I wanted to get some qualification under my belt, while I was working," he said.
The 20-year-old joined Off Road NZ straight from school nearly three years ago. He said this certificate offered him the chance to build on his training without the cost and career disruption full-time study would involve.
Content includes people management, employment and contract law, New Zealand tourism background, ecological tourism management, marketing and business writing skills.
Edmonds said he was particularly keen on the marketing component, as this was a direction he hoped to take down the track.
"It will give me options for the future.
"It's not a crazy amount of work and it fits around work and my other commitments."
Edmonds found out about the course from Offroad NZ operations manager Shane Cameron, who was involved developing the programme.
"I have had a lot of support from the company and feel privileged to be chosen as the first to do this course."
Cameron said Edmonds' in-house training and experience meant existing Level 3 qualifications would not be challenging enough for him.
"Without this qualification Sam would probably be gone.
"It feels like we're finally getting a qualification that can actually be done at work and is for guys who have been in the industry for a couple of years."
Cameron said many promising young people left smaller businesses to study or to go to larger firms where there were more training options.
"This is very affordable - especially if it means you can retain these staff members."
He said the course paid for itself through savings in advertising, time and training costs to recruiting new staff and the improved performance of the person involved.
ATTTO chief executive Elizabeth Valentine said tourism needed to retain and upskill a pool of future leaders, managers and supervisors.
Through the new Level 4 Certificate, she said businesses would be able invest in the people they most wanted to keep and promote to build stronger businesses.
"Keeping their best and brightest employees can be a challenge for small to medium-sized tourism businesses," she said.
"This new programme will help with that."
DETAILS
Level 4 National Certificate in Tourism - Business Practice
The certificate recognises the skills required to prepare for and guide adventure tourism day trips and is aimed primarily at people training for a career or currently employed in the adventure tourism industry.
An elective section allows people to select standards relevant to their specific sector.
It can be the start of a diploma-level qualification and earns students unit standards at Levels 3 and 4 of the New Zealand Qualifications Framework.
Papers are completed on-the-job through ATTTO, with managers providing support as required.
For more information, contact an ATTTO business development advisor, visit www.attto.org.nz or call (04) 499 6570.