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With training comes self-awareness, followed by confidence, to give every guest only the most rewarding experience

With training comes self-awareness, followed by confidence, to give every guest only the most rewarding experience

Training is at the heart of the Gondwana Collection’s appeal for its visitors. Whether it is a lodge on the banks of the Zambezi, in the Namib, the Kalahari, the Fish River Canyon, or the Delight Hotel in Swakopmund, the group’s ethos demands that every visit by every guest, must be memorable and special.

Achieving Gondwana’s high ratings is no easy task but it all rests on the group’s staff and their confidence. This is ensured by continuous training which Gondwana offers its own employees at its dedicated training academy that runs in the wings of Kalahari Farmhouse Lodge.

During this year, some 220 Gondwana employees will receive various forms of training at the academy to up their skills and to ensure that the same standard applies to all seventeen establishments in the group. The employees earmarked for training constitutes just over one quarter of the group’s total number of 850 employees.

The group has offered various courses of the past weeks, including housekeeping training, bar and barista training and maintenance courses, but over the weeks to come, more courses will follow with direct focus on leadership and soft skills.

This group of trained bartenders will return to their respective lodges armed with the latest trends in barkeeping..

Gondwana Collection said it believes that the group can only be successful if they make others successful therefore the Training Academy ultimately aims to uplift their employees. “They do so by giving them skills they need to further their own careers and they strive to improve the overall service excellence of the company,” Gondwana stated.

Since the training academy is situated at one of the group’s lodges, it offers all trainees practical vocational training at a standard that is uniform across all the establishments. Not only do trainees acquire the particular skill for a specific job, they are also taught about self-awareness, their role in the bigger tourism picture, mutual respect, and the diversity of man and nature. Participants learn to apply their knowledge in a structured format at work and to share it with their colleagues.

The current cycle of training runs until 20 March at the Kalahari Farmhouse and during this time it will be open to campers and visitors to the restaurant. During this period, overnight visitors are advised to book at Kalahari Anib Lodge, also in the Gondwana Collection.


Caption: Leadership is a key element of higher levels of training at the Gondwana Collection’s Training Academy at the group’s Kalahari Farmhouse Lodge. This group of elated trainees recently completed their first course.


 

About The Author

Mandisa Rasmeni

Mandisa Rasmeni has worked as reporter at the Economist for the past five years, first on the entertainment beat but now focussing more on community, social and health reporting. She is a born writer and she believes education is the greatest equalizer. She received her degree in Journalism at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) in June 2021. . She is the epitome of perseverance, having started as the newspaper's receptionist in 2013.