Professional Tour Guide School: 319. Hi-Lites: Proposal for a Special Program to Train Professional Female Guides

PROPOSAL FOR A SPECIAL PROGRAMME TO TRAIN

PROFESSIONAL FEMALE TOUR GUIDES

Vedasto Izoba,

PRINCIPAL

The PROFESSIONAL TOUR GUIDE SCHOOL - PROTS.

ARUSHA TANZANIA

SEPTEMBER 2009

PROPOSAL FOR A SPECIAL PROGRAMME TO TRAIN

PROFESSIONAL FEMALE GUIDES.

This proposal is a request for a grant of to support the training of 50 female tour guides at the Arusha based Professional Tourguides School (PROTS) for a period of one year.

Photos: Judith in her final stages of a Diploma in Professional Tour Guiding. Very happy with future prospects well focused.

The initial thought for training professional female guides is rooted from the reality that there is an apparent demand for them but again there is a kind of insensitivity to the value of training girls in field. An explanation for the lack of interest of training females in this field may be hinged on the feeling that it is a rough, dangerous and adventurous profession befitting men and not really meant for women. It is however becoming increasingly clear that with a proper training women have turned out to be excellent tour guides hence this request for assistance. The experience that has been gained by PROTS over the many years of training show that the relatively few girls who have gone through the course have turned out to be high quality guides much to the advantage of their employers, families and the country a large.

It is against this background that the request for financial support for a specific training of female tourguides is being made. This will be an entirely new venture in Tanzania’s tourism language. Those who will be involved in the program will require knowledge and practical skills aimed at producing first class female professionals in tour guiding. It should be obvious that this kind of special training will have a slightly different orientation and focus calling for a different and more vigorous approach. PROTS has the capacity to take up this challenge if it granted support.

Organizational Background

The training program for professional female tour guides shall be organized and conducted by the Professional Tour Guides School in Arusha Tanzania. The school has been in operation since 1995 and educates students for career positions as safari tour guides for one of the fastest growing industries on this part of the continent. Its mission is to improve tour guiding services and other related skills in the hospitality industry by providing quality training research and consultancy services to meet the industry standards

Maggie, is all smiles after a surprise visit with her baby!

Photo: We are admiring Maggie's, above, who studied at PROTS and now working with Dorobo Safaris as a Professional Tour Guide.

She got married to Tino a PROTS graduate.

Maggie testifies that it is possible to be a tour guide, get married and maintain a family.

In conjunction with local tour operators the school provides a yearlong certificate program and would now want to embark on a special course for female tour guides. The strategy is to provide an in depth classroom study and field experience plus enhanced English and other training as well as knowledge on tour quality and leadership skills, wildlife ecology and outdoor leadership and camp management. The graduating girls will become highly qualified for employment by local tour companies. Alternatively they will be equipped with skills to become competent freelance professional tourguides.

Tanzania remains one of the few places on the continent of Africa and indeed in the world with natural wonders where nature’s ecosystems still exists as it did 10,000 years ago located along the East African coast and bordered by Kenya and Uganda on the north Rwanda Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo on the west and Zambia Malawi and Mozambique on the south. Tanzania is home to national parks, game and forest reserves, and conservation areas that make up more than 25% of the country. Several of these protected areas have been designated as United Nations, Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage sites which are considered as having outstanding universal value. The Serengeti National Park for example was created to preserve the path of the world’s largest intact migration circuit for the nearly two million wildebeest and zebra that seasonally migrate in search of food and water for survival and serve as sustenance for a large predator population of lions, cheetahs and leopards. Another works Heritage Site, the Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest intact caldera, formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption.

Comprised of grassland, swamps, forest, and a lake, the crater has the most densely packed concentration of wildlife in Africa and is renowned as the eighth wonder of the world. In the northeast stand Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa highest peak and the central feature of Kilimanjaro National Park.

Although the government of Tanzania has staked much of the future of these protected areas on tourism, its ability to find these parks and recourses is limited. Private industry must help provide financial support and plays a significant role in protecting these last great wildlife sanctuaries. Sustainable tourism is the best way to preserve the environment and maximize these unique resources for the citizen of Tanzania and the thousands of tourists who visit each year.

Photo: Tumaini 'Hope' Soyala is among our shining examples who graduated at PROTS and was employed by CCAfrica now And Beyond. She is the happiest girl on the planet!

She will soon get married to Douglas, a PROTS graduate, too working with Dorobo Safaris.

Every time Tuma is in town she pays us a visit and gets a serious and motivating talk with female students.

She shares wildlife stories and the adventurous life and challenges of being a safari guide.

The funding of any program related to tourism not only benefits of the tourism industry the country’s natural treasures but equally important, help to foster economic opportunity for individuals living in this poor country, where unemployed among population of 34.5million (2002 census) is approximately 40%. Training of women in any field is of great significance because very few ever get employed in this country. Women need space in Tanzania’s society, but they can only obtain such space if they are empowered economically through training for employment in tourism and other economic ventures. Job training for women in tourism industry at the Professional Tour Guide School is unobtainable for most hence this request for funding.

Program Description.

We have already mentioned that the mission of PROTS is to provide the necessary education to produce the best possible tour guides. Now we want to go a step farther by seething to lay emphasis on the specific training of female tour guides. These skills required to fulfill this mission, range from knowledge of wildlife ecology, natural history and environmental studies to proficiency in foreign languages. Additionally, tour guides must develop strong leadership communication and customer care skills as well as master tour preparation and camp management.

This background is gained through a combination of classroom study, off site seminars and field trips to some of the wilderness areas, as where they will eventually be leading tours. PROTS is a champion in tourism training and is best placed to train female tour guides given the experience and exposure gained over the years.

Photo: Lilian "Lily-black" worked very jard on her Certificate and was awarded a Diploma scholarship. She has just graduated and is attached with Victoria Expeditions.

She remembers her months in Serengeti Camp when she was attached with Ahsante Tours as being the most memorable days of her life.

Student Selection Procedure:

An advertisement for the scholarship as regards girl tour guide training will be made in the local media and it is expected that there will be a flood of applications that will have to be shortlisted so as to remain with a manageable number of 50 applicants. These will be interviewed to assess their general understanding of the tourism industry, interest in contributing to the industry and integrity and most of all their ability to learn. The selected candidates will then be formally admitted to PROTS for the one year course.

Lilly-white joined PROTS with high expectations and went ahead to score them.

She used her intelligence and ability to study to the maximum and graduated with flying colours. See Page 98.

Her most memorable experience at PROTS is her 22 days with our group of tourists - the Tanzania Roots Go Minus 26 (Page 207).

Her final remarks after the group has departed was like: "I was looking for the most challenging and enjoyable profession in my life! I have found IT!"

Courses of study:

The female guides will engage in the following range of classroom and field study.

General Information and Tourism: including information files, map reading, history, geography and anthropology

Tour Guiding and Leadership Skills: covering tourist logistics, pre-tour briefings and presentation, professionalism and customer care, evaluations and tour reports, communication skills, preparing and conducting tour and problem solving.

Wildlife Ecology and Natural History: including animals, plants and birds identification, pursuit of food, grazing, browsing, migration, hunting and scavenging. Animal reproduction and survival strategies.

Outdoor Leadership Skills: conducting of photographic safaris, Mountain & Walking safaris, equipment, environmental studies and the wilderness first responder.

Safari/Game Driving skills: including game viewing, safety awareness, equipment, environment studies and first aid.

Camp Management: such as clients’ relation skills codes of conduct and camp studies.

Languages: Spoken English together with any of the following languages: French, Spanish, Germany and Italian.

Training Aids:

The classroom courses are taught using modern train aids as computer, slide shows, home theaters and projectors. Additionally, students receive hands on training as tour guides to national parties for vital field experience.

Photo: Aziza Mbwana graduated at PROTS and was employed right away by CCAfrica now known as And Beyond. She is married with a kid.

"My bosses understands my family commitments and my life at Lake Manyara National Park is enjoyable". She says.

Program outcomes:Fifty new female students will train as professional tour guides.

Funds Manager,
Cluster Competitiveness Program,
1288 Mwaya Road, Masaki,
P.O. Box: 23059, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Tel: +255 22 260 2751 / 260 2382
Fax: +255 22 260 2368
Email: ccp@tpsftz.org
Website: www.tpsf-ccp.org

We are working on it and will get in touch with the organization as soon as we are ready.

Guidelines for Submission of Concept Papers
A non-profit institution or consortium of cluster members will need to develop a Concept paper up to 10 pages (not including attachments) Which clearly states the problem and proposed solutions and includes all of the
Following Sections:

Problem Statement

Background-on the nature of the problem and how it came to exist; includes as necessary: technology issues, competitive pressure, new market trends, communication issue, etc.

Proposed Solutions- what is being recommended and how do these need to be implemented, include individual recommendations step to undertake them and timeline?

Impact -to result from correcting the problem and how it will improve the competitive position of a specific industry cluster or value chain.

Sustainability – how the new technology will be maintained and adopted in everyday business activities to achieve impact over the long term.

Cash flow – a simple, two-year projection of impact to cash flow resulting from the grant with assumptions to support major revenue and expense items.

Estimated Budget – how much will it cost to implement the proposed activities? This should be broken down under the appropriate headings.

Possible suppliers- of the technology, methodology or idea.

The Concept paper and supporting documentation should include the following parts:
1. Consortium/Institution profile
This should describe the production or service providing background and present situation of the organization(s). The profile should include ownership, financial situation, profitability, products and present markets.
2. The Concept Paper (incorporating sections 1-8 noted above)
The Concept paper should outline the range of activities to be undertaken to achieve both the cluster development objectives. It should detail those activities for which grant assistance is being sought and state how they will contribute to the firm growth and sustainability. The Concept paper should demonstrate that the objectives are realistic and achievable. All targets should be quantified and related to time so the impact of the activities can be measured.

INTRODUCTION TO CLUSTER COMPETITIVENESS PROJECT – SPECIAL FUNDINFORMATION SHEETWHAT IS THE CCP SPECIAL FUND?
The Cluster Competitiveness Program Special Fund provides cost-shared grants to improve the ability of industry clusters to become more competitive. The grants are intended to add sustainable capacity to produce higher value products and services, improve quality, strengthen linkages with suppliers and customers (both domestic and international), and adopt technology for improved productivity. Individual grants typically range from $20,000 to $250,000.WHAT TYPES OF GRANTS WILL BE CONSIDERED?
Grants which enable not just individual companies, but instead, clusters of companies or entire value chains – from input suppliers and processors to distributors – to improve productivity, increase sales and/or increase employment will be considered. These may include grants for physical infrastructure, e.g., machinery or… technical assistance to build capacity in moving clusters toward international certifications in production, service or quality standards. The Grants will be used for the following types of activities across each of the CCP clusters to support activities that increase competitiveness:

Procurement of equipment or services to strengthen cluster or value chain infrastructure needs.
Procurement of services or training to support the adoption of international production and /or quality assurance standards.
Participation in training to upgrade competence in technical or managerial process.
Other as may be designated to strengthen CCP support value chains and clusters.

WHICH TYPES OF INSTITUTIONS ARE ELIGIBLE TO PROPOSE A GRANT IDEA?

Business associations and national business groups/forums
Business support services providers
Universities and training institutions
Local governments

*all applicants must be involved as stakeholders in the clusters CCP is supporting.HOW ARE GRANTS IDEAS SELECTED FOR AWARD?
The grant ideas may be selected for funding in two ways:

CCP and its partner institutions identify a need. The need is discussed with relevant cluster members and stakeholders. If consensus is reached that the need exists and the proposed solution addresses the need, an institution will be selected to write brief concept paper. The concept paper will describe the problem, the proposed solution, how the solution will be sustainable and the expected impact.
Or an institution (see eligible institutions above) may develop a concept paper on its own for a grant and submit an unsolicited concept paper to CCP. The concept paper will describe the problem, the proposed solution, how the solution will be sustainable and the expected impact.

ELIGIBLE GRANT EXAMPLE
A cluster of companies that work together to produce, package and distribute tomato juice in the domestic market decide if they had a shared refrigeration and storage facility they could improve the quality and taste of the end product while reducing waste by 25%. They have also discussed this with a couple of distributors who say they are interested to distribute their products if they can set up the refrigeration and storage facility. They share this idea with the food processing association which agrees to develop and submit a grant concept paper to CCP for consideration.

HOW DO YOU SUBMIT AN UNSOLICITED CONCEPT PAPER FOR CONSIDERATION?
Develop a concept paper up to 10 pages (not including attachments) which clearly states the problem and proposed solutions and includes all of the following sections:

Problem Statement.

Background – on the nature of the problem and how it came to exist; include as necessary: technology issues, competitive pressures, new market trends, communication issues, etc.

Proposed Solutions – what is being recommended and how do these need to be implemented, include individual recommendations step to undertake them & timeline.

Impact – to result from correcting the problem and how it will improve the competitive position of a specific industry cluster or value chain.

Sustainability – how the new technology or methodology will be maintained and adopted in everyday business activities to achieve impact over the long term.

Cash flow – a simple, two year projection of impact to cash flow resulting from the grant with assumptions to support major revenue and expenses items.

Estimated Budget. – How much will it cost to implement the proposed activities?

This should be broken down under the appropriate headings.

Possible suppliers – of the technology, methodology or idea.

HOW ARE GRANTS ADMINISTERED?
Grants will not typically be provided directly to an institution for implementation. Instead, once a concept paper has been agreed upon, a host institution has been selected (in which the capacity will be built), and the grant forms have been submitted by that same host institution and accepted by CCP’s grant committee, CCP will arrange to procure the needed equipment/services directly from qualified suppliers. The entire process is as follows:

Idea is generated by CCP/partners or an institution on its own

Discussion with stakeholders takes place to validate the need and proposed solution

Concept paper is submitted with completed registration forms.

CCP Grants Committee reviews and decides if the grant is acceptable, which may involve further discussions with the submitting (host) institution

If grant is deemed acceptable for award a notice is sent and a grant agreement signed with host institution

CCP handles procurement of the equipment/services directly through competitive tender

Completed Registration forms with concept paper should be sent to: