Johannesburg International Airport gears up for 2010 kick-off

The programme, aptly named 'Laduma JIA', will equip customer-facing staff with the necessary customer focus skills to provide tourists with the best South African welcome.

"The significance of all airport staff being the first point of contact for many visitors into the country and thus being ambassadors for the South African brand cannot be overstated," says a spokesperson from the IMC. These workshops pave the way for learning initiatives specifically aimed at customer orientation, tourism knowledge, and skills shortage within the airport environment.

WITS Commercial Enterprise, the autonomous, self-funding commercial arm of Wits University, will work closely with the Learning Resources Group to help facilitate the project, with the joint venture providing both administration and project management services. They will work alongside Absa, who is funding and managing the project through its Funda Trust.

"Absa must be commended for its R6.8 million contribution to upgrading skills at the airport," says ACSA JIA general manager, Chris Hlekane. "The Funda Trust was established through donations made by Absa towards the upliftment of customer care and tourism skills at JIA in preparation for 2010. The stakeholders participating in the initiative are identified staff from ACSA, Equity Aviation, SARS, Home Affairs, Gauteng Tourism Services and SAPS."

Each major stakeholder employs personnel who impact the entire passenger experience in areas such as information sharing, customs, immigration, check-in, baggage handling and general policing. About 1800 people will participate in the programme over an 18-month period.

Preliminary workshop

A preliminary workshop held with JIA stakeholders identified training needs and areas that require improvement. These include the customer perception drivers as indicated in the Aetra report conducted by ACSA.

The course material for the programme is aligned to unit standards, and was developed by WITS Commercial Enterprise in conjunction with the Learning Resources Group and comprises five modules:

• Module 1 is an introductory module that focuses on JIA, tourism in SA and the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the JIA value chain, each employee's part in that value chain and as an ambassador for SA.
• Modules 2, 3, and 4 are the core customer focus modules that focus specifically on communication, peer relations, and problem-solving respectively.
• Module 5 integrates all preceding modules. This module also contains a practical component where employees go into the airport and look at the JIA value chain from a different perspective and observe how passengers experience the value chain.

"We are honoured to have won this challenging project and look forward to gearing up the gateway to South Africa," says Ricky Robinson, CEO of the Learning Resources Group. "We are aware that tourists will form their first impression of South Africa when they arrive at Johannesburg International Airport in 2010, and it is vital that this airport becomes a showcase of service excellence."