Top training leads to top service at Maropeng

December 17, 2010

By Sarah Key

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MD Tony Rubin with some of the Maropeng staff who recently received long service awards

For half a decade Maropeng has been making the history of humankind and our evolution accessible to local and international visitors alike. The visitor centre serves as the gateway to the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. It also stands as testament to the value of staff training and development.
 
Since December 2005, more than a million guests have headed out to the picturesque Magaliesberg, where the Maropeng experience awaiting them is multifaceted and interactive, and greatly enhanced by an informed and willing staff team.

Our dedicated staff complement has grown to over one hundred during the past five years. The hard work and pride of our employees in serving the public and sharing the story of humankind’s development is undoubtedly key to Maropeng’s success, making it the award-winning tourist attraction it is today.

A great workforce is not something that just happens, however. Helping staff master skills relevant to them both personally and professionally is a significant focus of staff development at the visitor centre. Tony Rubin, managing director of Maropeng, remarks, “The first five years have been a very exciting time for Maropeng, most especially because we engaged in a skills training programme with many previously unemployed people from the local area. The fact that we have recently recognised 38 people with awards for five years of service is amazing.”


Joash Mangoli Boiyo joined Maropeng in March 2008 as a junior chef. In the past two years he has been trained further in the kitchen, and is currently completing a course in culinary arts with Hospitality Trainers and Associates in Johannesburg. His approach to his work, marked by an eagerness to grow and learn, is embraced and encouraged at Maropeng, and Joash can often be found practicing his computer skills in his free time, searching for new recipes online.

Training promotes communication skills, flexibility, multitasking and problem solving, and helps to create a culture where good work is its own reward. A strong feeling of collegiality defines interactions between staff.

To find out more about the interesting people that work at Maropeng, and who you can hope to encounter at the visitor centre, read our staff profiles.

 

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