Tender Summary: National Certificate: Field Guiding

Objectives

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment seeks a service provider to deliver training services for the National Certificate: Field Guiding. The primary objective is to equip twenty-five previously disadvantaged individuals and community members with the skills required for the biodiversity economy sector. The training is scheduled for the Northwest Province in October 2026.

Scope of Work

The appointed provider must facilitate a ten-day face-to-face training programme. Responsibilities include:

• Delivering theoretical and practical instruction for 25 participants.
• Providing comprehensive learning material packs, including curriculum strategy alignment documents, facilitator guides, assessor guides, feedback documents, and moderation plans.
• Managing assessment and moderation processes, including the submission of participant Portfolios of Evidence to the accrediting body.
• Issuing CATHSSETA-accredited competency certificates to successful candidates and certificates of attendance to all participants who complete the full duration.
• Collecting participant identification and matriculation certificate copies for submission to the client by the end of the training period.
• Maintaining daily attendance registers and compiling a post-training report detailing participant numbers, dropouts, completions, and competency results.
• Supplying all necessary stationery, markers, and flipcharts.

Technical Requirements

Bidders must adhere to strict technical criteria:

• Mandatory Accreditation: Providers must hold valid CATHSSETA accreditation covering specific unit standards. A valid copy must be submitted; failure results in disqualification.
• Unit Standard 335799: Conduct a guided nature experience.
• Unit Standard 246740: Care for customers.
• Unit Standard 335801: Conduct a tourist guiding activity.
• Pricing: Quotes must be firm and inclusive of Value Added Tax, delivery costs, and all applicable statutory levies.
• Compliance: Bidders must submit completed Standard Bidding Documents, a Central Supplier Database report, and proof of tax compliance.
• Evaluation: An 80/20 preference point system applies. Eighty points are allocated for price, and twenty points for specific goals based on ownership by black people, women, or persons with disabilities exceeding fifty percent.

Skills Requirements

The tender requires a provider with established capacity to deliver accredited vocational training. The organization must demonstrate:

• Expertise in facilitating, assessing, and moderating the specified unit standards for field guiding.
• Qualified personnel capable of conducting both theoretical and practical components of the programme.
• Administrative capability to manage learner data, evidence compilation, and liaison with the sector education and training authority for certification.

Glossary of Terms

CATHSSETA: Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality, Sport Sector Education and Training Authority; the body responsible for setting industry standards and accrediting training providers.

Unit Standards: Registered learning outcomes on the National Qualifications Framework that define specific skills and knowledge required for occupational competence.

SBD: Standard Bidding Documents; mandatory forms used in South African public procurement to declare compliance, preferences, and declarations.

CSD: Central Supplier Database; the national government repository for vendor registration and tax compliance verification.

B-BBEE: Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment; legislation promoting economic transformation and redress for historically disadvantaged groups.

PoE: Portfolio of Evidence; a structured collection of work samples and assessments demonstrating a learner's competence against unit standards.