From Tourism Ambassadors to Permanent Jobs Three Joburg Women Turn Opportunity into Careers

Staff Reporter

For three young women who entered Johannesburg’s tourism sector looking for a chance to gain experience, the opportunity became much more than a temporary job.

Veronicca Lekoloane, Nobuhle Thembani and Ncebakazi Mohapi are among former Joburg Tourism Ambassadors who have gone on to secure permanent employment after gaining valuable workplace experience through the programme.

Their stories highlight how a first opportunity can sometimes become the beginning of a career. The programme, now known as the Joburg Tourism and Hospitality Vocational Training Programme, gives young people practical experience at tourism attractions, heritage sites, visitor centres, hotels and events across the city.

Participants learn about customer service, visitor engagement, communication and tourism operations while interacting with people from different parts of South Africa and the world.During the 2023/24 and 2025/26 programme cycles, 300 young people were placed at tourism sites and hospitality establishments across Johannesburg. Eight participants subsequently secured permanent employment.

For Lekoloane, 29, the opportunity came at a difficult point in her life. Financial challenges had forced her to stop studying Human Resources and Psychology, leaving her uncertain about what would come next. She joined the programme in October 2023 with a matric qualification and a determination to get workplace experience.

She was initially placed at 27 Boxes in Melville before moving to the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre, where she welcomed visitors and assisted with daily operations.The experience gradually helped rebuild her confidence and strengthened her customer-service and workplace skills.

More than two years after entering the programme, Lekoloane secured a permanent position at the centre in February 2026 as a receptionist and tech officer.“Being a Tourism Ambassador opened doors I never imagined,” she said.“The programme gave me a platform to serve, to learn and to grow.” For Lekoloane, the biggest change was not simply getting a job,but regaining hope about her future.

Nobuhle Thembani, 36, also used the programme as a stepping stone into the workplace with qualifications in Library and Information Studies and Generic Management, as well as tourism studies, Thembani had been looking for an opportunity to put her skills into practice.

She joined the programme in October 2023 and was initially placed in the Newtown Precinct. Two years later, she moved to Garden Court, where her commitment and work ethic helped her secure permanent employment in December 2025.

Her experience taught her that one opportunity can lead to another. “One door opening leads to many more doors and opportunities,” she said. For Ncebakazi Mohapi, 30, the programme provided an opportunity to discover the hospitality industry while meeting people from different countries and cultures.

Originally from Virginia in the Free State, Mohapi joined the programme after financial challenges prevented her from continuing her studies beyond matric.She started as a Tourism Ambassador at Sandton Sun and Towers in October 2025. Less than five months later, on 1 March 2026, she secured a permanent position as a waitress.

Mohapi says the experience has given her a clearer direction for her future, including her ambition to gain international hospitality experience. “I feel so overjoyed and happy about the journey that I am on right now because it is giving me a direction of where I want to be,” she said.

Her advice to other young people is simple: “Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it, work hard and keep pushing towards your goals.” As South Africa marks Tourism Month, the experiences of these three women show that tourism is not only about attracting visitors to Johannesburg.

For young people, it can also provide a first step into the workplace, an opportunity to develop confidence and skills, and a pathway towards permanent employmentFor Lekoloane, Thembani and Mohapi, what started as a temporary opportunity has become part of a much bigger journey building careers and creating a more secure future for themselves.