Page 161 - Microsoft Word - Guiding lights final version 0841 1007 big print.doc

selection and interview process and significantly increased the number of people we interviewed. Personal attributes are paramount for a tourist guide and we wanted to allow applicants to convince us of their passion for the profession. Together with the University of Edinburgh we re- shaped the introductory course to make it a two-way selection and self- evaluation tool for STGA and participants.’
Viola also created a ‘rather large’ Training Committee which met frequently in the hope that knowledge, skills and work were shared, and an atmosphere was built, in which the STGA Training system could flourish and become more sustainable. ‘In the early years, knowledge had been concentrated in a few minds, which was okay then, but is not good practice for any growing organisation. Another major milestone was the development of an assessment and appeals procedure to safeguard both candidates of the STGA Membership Exams and STGA Trainers. One important pillar in this procedure was timely dissemination of information to course participants and the STGA Trainer Team. There shouldn’t be any surprises in the membership exam.
‘What we now take for granted was not always the case. It took effort and time to communicate the benefits of adopting the EN15565 Training Standard. I drew up a schematic overview of the Standard, which not only contributed to EN15565 being adopted by the STGA Board, but also helped the Office Manager to negotiate a significant discount for members’ professional liability and public indemnity insurances. The insurance companies saw the breadth and depth of our training. This schematic overview of EN15565 is now used in Tourist Guide Training worldwide and it also helped me gain my FEG Trainer Qualification.
‘My time as Training Manager also saw the running of the free, compulsory ‘Sharing Best Practice’ workshops which received a mixed welcome from the STGA Membership. So what do trainers look for in someone wanting to be a guide? For Viola it is passion and attitude for wanting to be a guide and realistic expectations in that tourist guides are service providers. If this isn’t given, the training won’t fall on fertile soil. It is about finding the right people. Tourist Guiding isn’t for everyone. You can’t train passion and enthusiasm - you can train skills and open the door to knowledge and hope to inspire the journey to professionalism and fulfilment.
Mary Kemp Clarke cites ‘a love for our subject (Scotland) and a love for people (our guests).
‘No course teaches the knowledge from A to Z,’ she says. ‘This is what many sometimes think a course involves. It does not. Knowledge is acquired throughout our courses, throughout our careers as guides and throughout our lives. It chops and changes and is re-visited. What we
160