Roll-Out training for experienced ecotour guides

Background

The government of Indonesia like many other countries in Asia and the Pacific have voluntarily committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2020. Indonesia has committed itself to a reduction of 26% (up to 41 per cent with international support) in GHG emissions. In order to achieve this, climate change mitigation planning must be fully integrated into national economic development planning.

The effects of climate change and consequently policies of mitigation and their impact on the world of work are not always fully understood and, in some cases, considered a strain on the economy and competitiveness. The labour authorities’ and the social partners’ (ILO constituents) involvement in the development of comprehensive and coherent climate policies are required. In order to assist the government of Indonesia, the ILO through its regional office in Bangkok has selected Indonesia, as one of the five countries, to implement the Green Jobs in Asia Project.

The objective of this project is to deepen ILO constituents’ understanding and commitment for the promotion of Green Jobs opportunities and an adequate transition for workers and employers towards a low carbon, climate change decelerating, environmentally friendly and socially respectful development in Indonesia. To implement the green jobs demonstration project the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) for the Green Jobs in Asia project has decided that it should be undertaken in the tourism sector where the project would support the government initiated “Destination Management Organization” (DMO) program under the authority of the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (MoTCE).

Based on a preparatory assessment study, the demonstration project aims to develop two products in the tourism sector, namely, green home stays and eco-tourism. This will be implemented in two locations East Java and North Sumatra. Within these two products, one of the activities that undertaken by the green jobs in Asia project for local stakeholders in the Toba area is eco tour guide training in the form of a Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop, supported by a rollout training for beginners and experienced tour guides.

Purpose and Objectives

The development of sustainable tourism in Indonesia is one of the goals of paramount importance for the Government as well as the industries and other stakeholders. Part of a sustainable tourism strategy is the development of sustainable Eco-Tourism, including ecotours. In order to support the development of this sector, the human resource within the sector must also be given the appropriate capacity, including the eco tour guides.

The main purpose of the roll-out training for ecotour guides therefore is to give experienced tour-guides and potential eco-tour guides the necessary skills to conduct their specific activity following the ecotour guide national competency standards as stipulated by the Indonesian Government.

Through the activity, participants will be trained with all skills required under the national ecotour guide competency standards. Hence the purpose of the rollout training for ecotour guides is to enable the participants to enhance their skills and master new skills needed for their profession.

It is expected that the participants will complete the training with full knowledge of the skills and furthermore acquire the ability to practically apply them. Therefore, the training must not be merely theoretical in nature, but practically oriented. The training will be designed in a way to encourage the participants to be active and encourage them to learn for themselves and also support each other in mastering the skills.

A selection criterion will be developed to identify the participants of the training. An assessment of existing tour packages and potential new tour products in the destination areas will be done prior to the training and then would be shared with the participants during the training.