Northlink College Alumnus appointed as new Worcester Tourism Manager

Barbara van Rensburg, from the quaint town of Heidelberg in the Western Cape, has been appointed as the new Worcester Tourism
Manager in January 2016.

Van Rensburg studied the International Tourism City and Guilds course at Tygerberg Campus in 2013 where she excelled in the bookings programme, Galeleo, where she obtained a mark of 93%, and received 82% for her Reservations and Ticketing subject. This, according to her set the scene for a future that she saw in the Tourism Industry.

Since studying at Northlink, she did an internship at Lynn’s Travel and at Discover Africa where she says, she had to take three trains to get to work at 08:00 every day. “I wanted to work and therefore, even though it was a very stressful experience to be sure to get to work on time every day, it played a part in who I am today. I now understand what many workers who does not have vehicles go through every day, that sensitises me as to why employees could be late.”

After completing her internship at Discover Africa, she changed direction and was working in the Medical Field as receptionist until December 2015. As stated her new chapter started in January this year and she is enjoying her new position. Part of her responsibility is to market the beauty of the Worcester surrounds and liaise with the more than 60 Worcester Tourism Members.

“My mission is to get people from the Western Cape and beyond interested in seeing what Worcester has to offer from a tourism perspective, and in doing so make the tourism in this town alive again,” adds Van Rensburg.

She also has activities ‘up her sleeves’ to help give their members exposure in the community and beyond with the events and other promotional activities and collaborations with the other stakeholders such as the Breede River Municipality.

Says van Rensburg: “I can say that the subject matter as well as the lecturing staff are of industry standard and this has been the cornerstone of my career. I still refer back to my notes and text books to substantiate what I am doing.”

As long as you work hard, you will be rewarded and will be able to achieve what you have set out to achieve,” adds van Rensburg

The College continues to show their support and how proud they are for the many Alumni that have reached success in their careers. Barbara is no different and we are proud that most of what she is currently implementing was hugely attributed to the education she received at Northlink.