IFGA For Students
As a student entering the guiding industry, there are two key ways you can engage with IFGA: through membership and through certification. Becoming a member is your first step, giving you the tools to prepare for your eventual certification.
For Students
Types of Certification
IFGA Certification comes in three levels: IFGA Guide, IFGA Advanced Guide, and IFGA Ambassador. The type of certification a guide is awarded depends on the cumulative grade they receive from a series of assessments covering guided experience, knowledge and technique. Certifications are also specific to a specialisation, such as Vehicle Guide or Trails Guide.
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Should a student’s assessment grade fall between 40-59, they will receive the designation of “IFGA Trainee Guide”. This allows them to demonstrate their affiliation with IFGA, while continuing their training and reassessment at a later stage to achieve full certification as an IFGA Guide, IFGA Advanced Guide, and IFGA Ambassador.
Grade: 40-59
IFGA Trainee Guide
Grade: 60-75
IFGA Guide
Grade: 76-85
IFGA Advanced Guide
Grade: 86-100
IFGA Ambassador
Free IFGA Membership
Take control of your career from day one.
Membership is instant and 100% free. Simply register on our app to access a powerful career-building ecosystem designed to help you launch your career, unlock new opportunities, and stand out to the industry's best lodges and employers from the moment you graduate. We charge zero joining, annual, or renewal fees - ensuring you have ongoing support without any financial barriers.
Here is what your free IFGA profile offers you as you build your career:
Stand Out on the Industry Leaderboard:
Kickstart your job hunt with maximum visibility. Earning your certification automatically places your score on the global industry leaderboard, making your talent and guiding standards instantly visible to employers looking for top new guides.
While membership gives you the tools to manage your career, certification is the internationally recognised standard earned by demonstrating your skills in an IFGA assessment. Read on below to find out exactly how the student certification process works.
Expand Your Career Opportunities:
Build a direct pipeline to your first guiding role. You can browse active vacancies across the industry directly on the platform, or toggle your profile status to "Open to Private Guiding" or freelancing to unlock independent opportunities.
Fast-Track into Leadership:
Set your sights on long-term career progression and senior roles. As you gain experience in the field, you can access and earn the specialised IFGA Head Guide Certificate directly through the platform, giving you a clear pathway into management.
Earn a Global Professional Designation:
Elevate your status worldwide right from the start of your career. Scoring 60 or above in your assessment awards you the official right to use the professional designation of International Field Guide (IFG).
Streamline Your Administration:
Say goodbye to outdated paper logbooks and messy paperwork during your training. Effortlessly log your walking hours, game drives, and species sightings digitally and in real-time right from your phone.
Why Get IFGA Certified?
IFGA certification is built on what the industry identified as a crucial need: a new standard that goes beyond technical skills to spotlight the soft skills and guest-centred approach that truly set top guides apart.
IFGA adds a vital layer of credibility to your training by measuring your ability to create immersive, interpretive, and memorable guest experiences in the field.
Earning your certification automatically places your score on the global industry leaderboard, instantly showcasing your capabilities to employers and lodges looking for top new talent. With transparent scoring and globally transferable standards, IFGA helps you stand out in a competitive market and opens doors to exciting career opportunities worldwide – all without any joining or annual membership fees.
Specialisations
IFGA Vehicle Guide
Assesses the guest-facing and interpretive skills demonstrated during vehicle-based safaris, including storytelling, ecological knowledge, and the ability to engage guests across topics like mammals, botany, birding, and track & sign.
IFGA Foundational Trails Guide
A Foundational Trails Guide (second rifle) can accompany an Advanced Trails Guide (first rifle) on walking safaris in dangerous game areas.
Once you have obtained your IFGA Foundational Trails Guide certification, you can then gain additional experience in the working environment to gain IFGA Advanced Trails Guide and IFGA Wilderness Trails Guide certification.
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IFGA Advanced Trails Guide
An Advanced Trails Guide can legally walk as the first rifle (country dependent) to conduct extended trails walks in dangerous game areas, and to actively follow and view potentially dangerous animals.
IFGA evaluates the behavioural, leadership, and guest experience skills of experienced guides in high-pressure walking environments.
IFGA Wilderness Trails Guide
A IFGA Wilderness Trails Guide can legally walk as the first rifle (country dependent) to conduct extended multiday backpack wilderness trails through dangerous game areas, and to actively follow and view potentially dangerous animals.
IFGA evaluates the behavioural, safety, leadership, and guest experience skills of experienced guides in high-pressure walking environments.
IFGA specialisations recognise a guide’s ability to deliver outstanding guest experiences in specific guiding contexts, such as vehicle-based safaris, nature walks, and trails in dangerous game areas.
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IFGA adds an important layer of distinction – recognising guides who go beyond basic competency by evaluating how they communicate, interpret, connect with guests, and demonstrate situational awareness to create meaningful, memorable encounters.
IFGA Assessment
Theory Assessment
The theory exam assesses a guide candidate's knowledge across topics like ecology, animal behaviour, species identification, and guiding principles. While the industry pass mark ranges from 50% to 75%, the IFGA requires a higher standard with a minimum pass mark of 80%.
Practical Assessment
The IFGA practical assessment is divided into three categories: Guided Experience, Technique, and Knowledge, with each assessed separately. This structure ensures a comprehensive evaluation of a guide's skills and abilities across all key areas.
*There are additional requirements to become certified depending on the specialisation you choose, such as a driving assessment. These are detailed below.
Requirements: IFGA Vehicle Guide
For this specialisation, each component must be successfully completed, though there is no required order for achieving them. If any component is not met, a statement of results will be issued until all remaining requirements are fulfilled.
Theory Exam (Vehicle Guide): 80%
Practical Components: 85%
IFGA Driving Assessment: Required
National Guiding Certificate: Required (country specific)
Age: 21+
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Requirements: IFGA Foundational Trails Guide
As with Vehicle Guide, each component must be complete to fulfil this specialisation, but in no specific order. Exposure walks are led by other experienced and qualified guides to give the trainee encounters needed for this specialisation.
Theory Exam (Trails Guide): 80%
Advanced Rifle Handling: Required
Rifled Encounters (Participant): 20 encounters required
Rifled Encounters (2nd Rifle): 1 encounter per dangerous game species* required
Hours: 100 walking hours in dangerous game areas.
Age: 21+
*In South Africa this includes elephant, rhino, buffalo and lion
Requirements: IFGA Trails Guide
This is the advanced version of the Trails Guide specialisation, which allows the guide to lead walks in areas with dangerous game. The same expectations apply regarding fulfilling components to complete the specialisation.
Advanced Rifle Handling: Required
IFGA Graded Assessment: Required
Dangerous Game Encounters: 200* required
Age: 21+
National Guiding Certificate (Walking): Required (country-specific)
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*Not including encounters on Trails Guide exposure walks.
Frequently Asked Questions
IFGA certification is available to all individuals and assessors across various stages of their guiding profession.
This includes aspiring field guides pursuing student certification, qualified and practising guides seeking to validate their expertise, and experienced professionals looking to become IFGA-certified assessors.
Who can become an IFGA Member?
Anyone training toward a field guiding career can work toward an IFGA certification through an accredited training provider. Right now, IFGA has certified training providers in South Africa.
To be fully certified, you need to meet the following criteria:
Foundational qualification: You must first complete your entry-level legal qualification (such as the CATHSSETA Nature Site Guide NQF2 in South Africa) through an accredited training provider.
Practical assessment: You must successfully pass a practical evaluation proving your mastery of IFGA's soft skills, communication, storytelling, and ethical standards.
Age requirement: While you can begin training and earn your legal CATHSSETA qualification at 18 in South Africa, full IFGA certification is only awarded from the age 21. This aligns directly with essential hospitality and industry requirements, such as holding a Professional Driving Permit (PrDP). Anyone younger than 21 will still receive a statement of results and their IFGA score, but will only receive their certification once they turn 21.
Who can become an IFGA Guide?
Yes. You can be affiliated with, or be a member of, one or more associations.
Can I be an IFGA member and a FGASA member?
Yes. You can be affiliated with, or be a member of, one or more associations.
Can I be IFGA certified and FGASA certified?
Existing, qualified guides can easily transition into the IFGA ecosystem through an IFGA assessment. The first step is to contact us using the form below so we can connect you with an accredited IFGA assessor in your region. Your assessor will verify that you meet the necessary baseline requirements, including age and national guiding credentials, before guiding you through the practical, in-person field evaluation. You will gain full access to the platform and your digital portfolio with zero ongoing annual fees.
How can I get certified as an IFGA Guide?
On average, field guide courses take between two and six months to complete, plus an optional additional six months' work placement. These courses are designed to provide you with essential training, theory, soft skills, and knowledge to excel as an IFGA guide.
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Existing guides in the industry don’t have to do an additional IFGA-certified training program, as they are already qualified guides. Existing guides wanting IFGA Certification simply have to book an Assessment with an IFGA Assessor.
How long is an IFGA training program?
IFGA offers three certification levels for IFGA Vehicle-based guiding based on your graded performance: IFGA Guide (60-75%), IFGA Advanced Guide (76-85%), and IFGA Ambassador (86+). Each level is awarded based on the candidate’s performance in their assessment, which covers areas such as guided experience, technique, and knowledge.
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IFGA offers 3 certification levels for IFGA Trails Guides, which are not a score-based certification: IFGA Foundational Trails Guide (guides starting their trails guide journey as students/trainees), IFGA Trails Guides (for guides that have met the IFGA Trails Guide Requirements), and IFGA Wilderness Trails Guide (for existing guides conducting multiday backpack trails through dangerous game areas)
What are the different levels of IFGA certification?
IFGA certification allows you to specialise in areas like Vehicle Guide, where you lead wildlife tours in vehicles, or Trails Guide, where you can conduct nature walks. Advanced specialisations, such as the IFGA Wilderness Trails Guide, enable you to lead extended backpacking trails in dangerous game areas.
What specialisations can I pursue with IFGA certification?
Vehicle-Based Assessments:
IFGA assessments evaluate guides across three key areas: guided experience, technique, and knowledge. Each guide is graded on these areas, and their certification status is based on the overall score for vehicle-based guiding.
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Trails Guide Assessments:
Assessments for IFGA Trails Guide and Wilderness Trails Guide are also required, and guides are evaluated on two broad categories: Safety and guided experience. IFGA Trails Guide and Wilderness Trails Guide are not scored-based assessments but rather assessed on competency.
How are IFGA assessments structured?
Requirements: IFGA Wilderness Trails Guide
This is for guides who would like to become wilderness trail guides and lead multi-day backpack trails.
