Five years from its inception, the Queenstown Resort College has grown from a modest operation catering for 11 students to a fully-fledged tertiary institution with a student population of just under 300. Joe Dodgshun spoke to graduate Graeme Sharp, now manager of a luxury safari camp in Zimbabwe.
After completing the QRC diploma in adventure tourism management in December 2008, Mr Sharp "needed to get back" to his homeland. Soon after starting in early 2009 he was given the position of assistant manager at Ruckomechi for the rest of the year.
In January 2010 he was promoted to camp manager, for which he oversees the camp and its 42 staff, as well as Mana Canoe Trails - an operation offering canoe trips down the Zambezi River.
Some of his responsibilities include maintenance of the camp, the roads and the airstrip in the camp's private 78sq km concession, co-ordinating stock, staff, and guiding.
He says the job is like no other.
"The team of staff that I work with, the environment, waking up on the banks of the Zambezi and being out in this environment daily is something special and no day is ever the same," Mr Sharp said.
The skills, experience and networking the job provided were excellent, he said.
So were the opportunities to take part in event management, including his role in the Children in the Wilderness programme, running educational camps for young children with a focus on confidence, nature and the environment, and team building.
Mr Sharp said the QRC's adventure tourism programme gave him the skills, the confidence and clear thinking to run an operation the size of Ruckomechi.
"One's confidence grows tremendously from the start of the programme through to the end - confidence in decision-making, confidence in dealing with people ... At QRC we were making decisions out in the field and in the classroom and in my role out in the bush, one is making decisions all the time."
In particular he found the college's internship to be excellent "as it throws real scenarios and real people at you where there is no syllabus to look things up".
"You have to be resourceful, and quick thinking and resolve the issues ... It's easy to know all the facts and theories in a classroom but it's their application to the real world that ultimately stands out in the industry," Mr Sharp said.
Leaving Queenstown after he graduated had been a difficult decision, he said. He had several job offers from leading Queenstown companies, but in the end, Africa won out.
"Queenstown is certainly not out the question and I could well be back in the near future. I love the energy of the place."
