FGASA
Membership

Already a FGASA member or would like to join?

login or Register to the Members area
Anybody is welcome to join FGASA as a professional body member, at their discretion. For all Nature Site Guide NQF2, Nature Site Guide (Marine) NQF2  and Culture Guide NQF4 membership registrations, you  need to be over the age of 18. This is in order to write the exams and be practically assessed.
Nature Enthusiast membership registrations are for non-guiding adults over the age of 18. Junior FGASA memberships, namely Pangolin and Nature Ambassador courses are for school learners including categories for both Primary and High school learners. Certificates are issued on successful completion of workbooks.

Nature Site Guide NQF2

Membership is for anybody who would like to:

  • Follow a professional career in Nature Guiding
  • Gain a recognised Guiding Qualification
  • Support the development of Professional Nature Guides
  • Gain a recognised Tracker qualification
  • Grow your professional guiding career as a member of FGASA and receive access to a network of highly experienced FGASA guides, mentors and assessors.
  • Register with Department of Tourism (NDT) as a legal guide
  • Keep track of qualifications and experience

Cultural Guide NQF4

Cultural FGASA  Membership is for anybody that would like to:

  • Follow a career in Culture Guiding
  • Gain a recognised Culture Guiding Qualification
  • Support the development of Professional Field Guides
  • Register with Department of Tourism (NDT) as a legal guide
  • Keep track of qualifications and experience

Nature Enthusiast

(non guiding certificate)

Nature Enthusiast  Membership is for any non-guiding person would like to:

  • Improve their knowledge of wildlife, conservation and culture
  • Gain recognition for acquired knowledge
  • Enjoy benefits and discounts with our retail partners
  • Verify and track their FGASA knowledge courses

Junior FGASA Pangolin Course

Junior FGASA  Membership is for any junior (8-12 years) that would like to:

  • Improve their knowledge of wildlife, conservation and culture from an early age
  • Connect with nature
  • Gain recognition for acquired knowledge
  • Enjoy benefits and discounts with our retail partners
  • Verify and track their FGASA knowledge courses

This is a wonderful course covering 17 modules, all combined in a beautiful manual developed by FGASA and created by Kids in the Wild. There are 2 workbooks that accompany the manual which can be done with no deadlines, so you may work at your own pace. Once the workbooks have been completed, you can write a mini test.  After a  mark of 75% has been attained a Junior FAGSA certificate will be issued to you for the Pangolin course.

The self-study Pangolin programme includes:

Junior FGASA Pangolin manual and two workbooks,

Junior FGASA membership fee and registration

Junior FGASA Pangolin certificate

Once off course fee of R1390.00

Optional (additional fee)

Series of on demand lectures delivered by Kids in the Wild and other endorsed providers

Quizzes, games, mini tests

Junior FGASA Nature Ambassador Course

FGASA  Nature Ambassador Membership is for any teenager  ( 13-17 years) that would like to:

  • Improve their knowledge of wildlife, conservation and culture from an early age
  • Connect with nature
  • Gain recognition for acquired knowledge
  • Enjoy benefits and discounts with our retail partners
  • Verify and track their FGASA knowledge courses

Once you turn 13 you may then move onto the Nature Ambassador category, here we explore all that you have covered before but more in depth, discovering more about the animals and the environments that we all live in. Again the workbooks and assignments are open book, so a mark of 85% needs to be obtained in order to pass. Once you have completed the Nature Ambassador certificate you may then apply for the specialist workbooks that are available for the Nature Ambassador.

Corporate Membership

Corporate Membership is for any lodge or tourism company who would like to:

  • Support the development and career growth of Professional Field Guides
  • Hire FGASA certified, highly qualified, professional, legally registered Field guides
  • Enjoy benefits and discounts with our retail partners
  • Verify and track employed guides qualifications
  • Host special exam sittings for in house guide training
  • Free advertising for employment opportunities or events held at your lodge, reserve, and/or company

Membership Benefits

Did you know that as a registered and up-to-date member of FGASA you have exclusive access to many benefits?

FGASA is a professional body representing certified guides that meet industry preferred standards. FGASA sets the benchmark standards of professionalism, ethics and safety. FGASA guides are highly sought after in the tourism industry of southern Africa as a result of these standards of excellence. Being a member of FGASA tells people you are professional, ethical, have met FGASA standards of knowledge, experience, training and mentorship. This makes FGASA certified guides extremely attractive to employers and other roles players across the tourism sector in southern Africa.

Aside from the training materials and brand recognition, the FGASA office staff handle all of our members administrative needs and keeps detailed records of qualifications earned, hours in the workplace and logbooks of guiding experience. All of this functions as an archived, record of evidence and guiding competence that we can use to assist you, should you ever need it.

We also provide many additional benefits that range from partnerships with retail stores for uniforms and clothing items to healthcare benefits and insurance. Visit our Membership Benefits page to learn more and see what you’ll have access to as a proud, FGASA member!

FGASA Membership Benefits
Become a Member

Registration

To sign up for any FGASA course or qualification, you need to register as a member

All registrations are completed online

  • All information is required for statistical and registration purposes by both FGASA and CATHSSETA

Membership fees include:

  • A registration fee
  • An annual subscription fee (this is payable every 12 months in order to maintain membership)
  • Nature Site Guide NQF2 study material for new learners embarking on their professional guiding career as members of FGASA
  • Non-dangerous game logbook

Fees do NOT include:

  • Exam fee
  • Assessment fee
  • Postage fee for certificate

Membership is valid for one calendar year.  If your membership lapses, after 60 days from expiry date, you will be required to re-register.

Become a member

Annual Membership FAQ’s

As a member of FGASA, you will need to pay an annual subscription fee (every 12 months).

If your annual subs fee is not up to date, you will not be able to:

  • purchase books
  • purchase study materials
  • write exams
  • be practically assessed

Fees are payable every 12 months from the date of your registration with FGASA.

There is a 60 day grace period in which to pay your subs.  After 60 days, you will need to pay a re-registration fee.

Registration fees are paid when you register either as a NEW member

OR

If your current membership expires, you will need to pay a re-registration fee.

Re-instatement is for any member who has not maintained his/her annual membership subscription and wants to be re-instated as a member of FGASA.

We understand that many of our members work in remote areas with limited access to signal and internet, because of this we have a 60-day grace period where members are able to pay their subs at the annual rate for 60 days after the date of expiry.

Life is busy and we understand that members don’t always know exactly when their annual subs expire, to assist with this we send out reminder emails to our members two weeks before their subs expire.

If your annual membership has lapsed, after 60 days you will need to pay a re-instatement fee.

Please register online, or log into your account to pay your fees. All fees and annual subs are payable online only or at one of our offices.

Please do not pay any money into our account if you have not received an invoice.

As soon as your registration and membership has been processed by the FGASA Head Office, and you have submitted the relevant CATHSSETA learner form and certified copy of your ID (South African citizens) or certified copy of your passport (foreign nationals) you will receive your study material pack via the method you have chosen ie. Digital link, PostNet or collection from one of our offices.

Membership Cards and Certificates are only issued once you have attained a full FGASA certification. You have to attain both theory (exam) and practical (assessment) competence. All FGASA postage is sent PostNet to PostNet, Courier Guy or DHL International.

The postage fee for membership cards and certificates is not included in your membership fee. FGASA will invoice the member for postage of membership cards and certificates, this is charged at a fee of R150. For international postage the member is responsible for organising and paying the relevant postage fee to DHL International, please note DHL charges according to dimensions and weight of the package.

FGASA members may also collect their cards, badges and certificates from the FGASA Head Office at the Famery, Zandspruit Boulevard, Hoedspruit, Limpopo.