Abstract
Tourism faces unique skills gaps and despite investments in human capital development (HCD) most managers
are not aware, nor held accountable for the benefits and risk of HCD. This paper explores the responsibility of
collaborative role players in managing HCD risk in South African tourism. Interviews with managers reveal the
benefits from collective management of HCD risks such as: employee retention, learning transfer, misaligned
training needs, disengaged employees and financial mismanagement. The research adds to SA HCD risk
knowledge. Practically, the top five SA HCD tourism risks and risk management collaborators are revealed.