Having successfully completed an intensive 6-month training course, seven young trainees have graduated from the Singita Field Guide and Tracker Training Academy in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve. Singita is one of only three lodges in South Africa to have attained Gold status in the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa’s (FGASA) lodge grading system. Gold status, the highest category of the FGASA lodge grading system, recognises a game lodge that not only promotes the standards of the association, but provides ongoing support, creating career paths for its staff members and ensuring a high standard of welfare for its guides and trackers.

Since its inception in 2006, 31 Field Guides and Trackers have completed Singita’s FGASA accredited training course. Almost half of those graduates have come through the Singita ranks as internal development candidates - 7 employees from other departments within Singita having completed the Tracker training, and 8 former Trackers who were promoted to Field Guides.

These include personal development success stories such as Collen Sibuyi (25), who is amongst the current group of graduates, and who went from a young development applicant to Tracker, and now Field Guide at Singita Sabi Sand, all within the space of four years.

Singita Game Reserves currently employ 46 Field Guides and 27 Trackers, providing an exceptional standard of guiding and tracking to complement some of the very best game viewing on earth. There are nine Singita lodges in four locations: South Africa’s Kruger National Park and game-rich Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve, the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve in Zimbabwe, and Grumeti Reserves in Tanzania’s legendary Serengeti.

Course training subject matter ranges from creating an interest, and paving the way towards an in-depth knowledge and understanding of all aspects of flora, fauna, and ethology (the study of animal behaviour), to a guide’s ability to host, entertain, understand and deal with people – all vital components of the role of Field Guide or Tracker. Also included in the course is weapon-handling, first aid, and a wine course to a certification level by the Cape Wine Academy. Practical assessments include Astronomy (Game Drive and Telescope), Tracking and Shooting, as well as Game Drive and Game Walk assessments to cover all areas of field guiding.

As part of the training program, trainee Field Guides and Trackers conduct game drives on weekends for children from the Community who live on the outskirts of the Sabi Sand. This not only provides the trainees with opportunities to practise their newly acquired skills, but in line with the core focus of the Singita ethos, provides an essential service as part of the upliftment of local communities, and the education of children on basic ecological issues and the preservation of wildlife.

As a testimony to the high quality of training provided by the Singita Training Academy, no less than three of Singita’s Trackers have been rated as Senior Trackers, amongst a total of only 22 Senior Trackers worldwide. This is the highest rating one could aspire to as a Tracker. Ekson Ndlovu, George Nkuna and Johnson Mhlanga all achieved 100% in the coveted 7-day Senior Tracker Assessment that is undertaken by four external assessors every year, and measured against various CyberTracker criteria and standards. Six other Singita trackers are currently on the invitation list to be rated as Senior Trackers, three of whom have already achieved half of the qualification.

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Issued by Fivestar PR

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