Don't Look Down on the New Kid: Why Tourism Interns Deserve Your Respect
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On this episode of The Real South African, Geniene sits down at River Lodge in Oudtshoorn's Eco Village with Michaela Crowe, who places tourism and event management diploma students from CPUT into six months of practical industry training. Many of her students come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and this placement is often the turning point that opens real doors.
Mikaela explains her role — CV and interview coaching, workplace etiquette, and matching students with host businesses — and makes a strong case for placing students with smaller operators, where they can shadow an owner one-on-one and pick up entrepreneurial thinking, not just employment skills.
The conversation takes an unexpected turn on age: there's no ceiling on retraining into tourism. A retiree with decades in banking, for instance, often has exactly the admin skills a small guesthouse owner is missing — and could mentor a young intern while gaining purpose in the process, rather than buying a guesthouse cold and discovering they're now the chef, cleaner, and receptionist all at once.
They're honest about the realities too: tourism isn't glamorous, it demands constant people-facing energy, and a guest's very first impression — the moment their bag is picked up at the door — sets the tone for their entire stay.
Get in touch: crowem@cput.ac.za
Mikaela explains her role — CV and interview coaching, workplace etiquette, and matching students with host businesses — and makes a strong case for placing students with smaller operators, where they can shadow an owner one-on-one and pick up entrepreneurial thinking, not just employment skills.
The conversation takes an unexpected turn on age: there's no ceiling on retraining into tourism. A retiree with decades in banking, for instance, often has exactly the admin skills a small guesthouse owner is missing — and could mentor a young intern while gaining purpose in the process, rather than buying a guesthouse cold and discovering they're now the chef, cleaner, and receptionist all at once.
They're honest about the realities too: tourism isn't glamorous, it demands constant people-facing energy, and a guest's very first impression — the moment their bag is picked up at the door — sets the tone for their entire stay.
Get in touch: crowem@cput.ac.za
