Staff at Johannesburg International airport (JIA) are to receive skills training to improve customer-service levels in preparation for the Fifa 2010 Soccer World Cup, South African government news agency BuaNews reported on Monday.
The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has already made R3,5-billion available for infrastructure investment in preparation for South Africa’s hosting of the Cup. This will go towards the upgrading of the Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban international airports.
The company said it was working hard to ensure that service levels at the airports matched or exceeded the standards set by the best airports in the world.
”To this end, the company has launched the Laduma JIA programme to give staff dealing with customers, the necessary skills to provide a warm welcome and efficient service,” the government service reported.
This initiative is being carried out in partnership with Wits Commercial Enterprise, the self-funding commercial arm of the University of the Witwatersrand, working closely with the Learning Resources (LR) group.
The joint venture will provide both administration and project-management services. ”We are honoured to have won this challenging project and look forward to gearing up the gateway to South Africa,” said LR’s Ricky Robinson.
The International Marketing Council (IMC) is also running workshops for airport staff and those from other key sectors, focusing on being brand champions for South Africa, under the banner of the Funda Trust.
”The Funda Trust was established through donations made by one of the major banks towards the upliftment of customer care and tourism skills at Johannesburg International airport in preparation for 2010,” said Acsa Johannesburg general manager, Chris Hlekane.
The stakeholders participating in the initiative are identified staff from ACSA, Equity Aviation, South African Revenue Services, the Department of Home Affairs, Gauteng Tourism Services and the South African Police Service. — I-Net Bridge