National Tourism Careers Expo (NTCE) 2013

The National Tourism Careers Expo (NTCE) is expected to attract over 10 000 learners, tourism students, graduates and educators during the three days. The interactive exhibition is designed to showcase the exciting career opportunities available in tourism and hospitality.

The NTCE, which will run from 19 to 21 September 2013 at the East London ICC, is a partnership event under auspices of the Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency (ECPTA), an agency mandated to tourism & bio diversity management, National Department of Tourism (NDT), the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) and Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA). With this year’s theme being “Explore your World of Tourism” the expo is now in its fourth year and aims to drive South Africa’s National Tourism Sector Strategy’s goal of creating 225 000 tourism jobs by 2020, and ensuring there are sufficient numbers of skilled people to fill these positions.

During the expo popular highlights will include:

d areas within the expo that will cater to each of the sectors of tourism and hospitality
Speakers Corner, where tourism entrepreneurs and industry experts will share their success stories and allow learners and students to interact directly with the speakers.
A job placement and recruitment service will also be made available to the learners
Private sector companies will exhibit at the expo where they will provide interactive, edutainment experiences for the learners and further show their commitment to skills development by offering a number of bursaries, s and internships to learners attending the expo.

Feedback from last year's attendees:

Comments on the NTCE’s Facebook site confirm the expo’s success with learner, Londiwe Nqayi, saying “It was so much fun, eye opening and I got a lot of information that is going to kick start my career in tourism.”

Educator, Zama Mkhwanazi,commented, “It was well planned and also gave us a chance to do some sightseeing. We thank you and all the sponsors for coming together for a good cause. Change starts with you and to give a child a reason to dream and believe in their dreams means a lot. NTCE will always have a footprint and an impact in my heart.”

Last year, over 200 educators attended tourism focussed educator workshops with three sessions being held each day of the expo. Topics like responsible tourism, entrepreneurship and service culture in tourism were covered by expert speakers from the industry.

100 volunteers from the Walter Sisulu University and MSC College were recruited and trained to assist with the organisation and event management of the expo. The Buffalo City Metro was instrumental to the success of the 2012 NTCE through financial & non-financial support.

Why the expo is important?

“We want people in tourism to be proud of being in the sector, and events like the NTCE are a wonderful showcase of the wide possibilities available to learners. As the partners of the expo, we are merely here to provide a platform of interaction and knowledge. We are thrilled to have been part of this extremely successful event and hope that each and every learners, unemployed youth and educator who attended has seized the opportunity to make it happen,” says the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Tokozile Xasa.