Certification
Certification is the process by
which an authority grants a certificate to a person stating they have
successfully completed training and/or an examination qualifying him/her to
work in a given field. Certification is not presently available to tour guides working
in Toronto.
Members of CTGA of Toronto have
repeatedly noted or heard complaints that there are guides working in our
area who are not qualified to guide locally. This can be because they
either have not picked up decent training locally or they are from outside
our area and have not studied the local attractions, history, etc.
While we somewhat enjoy the
informal nature of the touring industry in Toronto, CTGA of Toronto
recognizes the problems in not having a qualifying process for local guides.
Over two years ago we established our Committee on Certification and
Licensing to look into the problems related to certification (or, should we
say, the lack of it?) and the issue of licensing which goes hand in hand
with certification. Discussions have taken place with city officials
and educators to determine what can be done to rectify the situation.
Conclusions and implementation
have not been reached as yet. Until they are, we suggest that
recruiting your local guide from a reputable local Tour Operator in Toronto
is the best approach for individuals or companies planning tours in our
area. You increase your chances of having a pleasant and informative
tour in our town by doing so.
We at CTGA of Toronto view our
members as some of the best locally. Since 2002 coach window identification plaques
have been available to all our members.
You can see a photo of it in the upper right hand corner of this page.
If you come this way watch for it in your coach window when the local guide
steps aboard. Our members also have a clip-on photo identification
badge which they may wear. If your guide does not display one, ask him
or her if he or she is a member of CTGA of Toronto. In the absence of
a certification process, we take great pride in having presented our members
with the best information available for touring for over eleven years.
