It is estimated the industry will need another 2,000 permanent employees and 4,000 seasonal employees within the next few years. This future growth is dependent on the ability to attract and retain young people who are highly skilled and enthusiastic and develop them to become our industry’s future leaders.
| Primary Industry Training Organisation (ITO) | primaryito.ac.nz/apprenticeships |
| Eastern Institute of Technology | eit.ac.nz/subject-areas/horticulture/eit.ac.nz |
| Eastern Institute of Technology | eit.ac.nz/subject-areas/horticulture/eit.ac.nz |
| North Tec | northtec.ac.nz/programmes/new-zealand-certificate-in-horticulture-general-level-3northtec.ac.nz |
| Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi | wananga.ac.nz/study/certificates/kai-oranga-l3 |
| NZMA | nzma.ac.nz/courses/horticulture-overview |
| Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology | toiohomai.ac.nz/study/subject/horticulturewww.toiohomai.ac.nz |
| Southern Institute of Technology | sit.ac.nz/Courses/Agriculture-Horticulture |
| Nelson & Marlborough Institute of Technology | nmit.ac.nz/study/study-areas/horticulture |
| Wintec | wintec.ac.nz/study-at-wintec/courses/horticulture |
| Fruition Horticulture | fruition.net.nz |
| Pacific Coast Technical Institute | pcti.co.nz |
| Start a Fresh | startafresh.co.nz/educationandtraining/ |
| Valley Education & Training Enterprises Ltd | valleyeducation.co.nz |
| Training.co.nz | Training.co.nz |
| National Trade Academy | nta.co.nz/courses/horticulture/ |
| Massey University | massey.ac.nz |
| Lincoln University | lincoln.ac.nz |
| Waikato University | waikato.ac.nz |
| Hawkes Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association | hbfa.co.nz/hbfa-charitable-trust |
| HortNZ Industry Training Scholarships | hortnz.co.nz/people-jobs-and-labour/scholarships |
| Zespri Scholarships | zespri.com |
| Horticentre Trust Undergraduate Scholarship |
| HortNZ Leadership Programme | hortnz.co.nz/people-jobs-and-labour/2025-hortnz-leadership-programme | |
| Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme | ruralleaders.co.nz/Kellogg | |
| Nuffield New Zealand | ruralleaders.co.nz/Nuffield | |
| Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award | sirpeterblaketrust.org | |
| PMA A-NZ Produce Development Program: Business Skills for Emerging Leaders | www.pma.com/global-pma/anz | |
| Women & Leadership New Zealand | www.womenandleadership.co.nz | |
NZKGI, alongside Fruition Horticulture and Toi-Ohomai, developed a series of Winter Pruning Taster and Training courses. The course is targeted at newcomers to the industry, allowing them to see if the physicality of winter pruning is for them. The five-day Training course provided a deeper understanding of the basics and an opportunity for participants to practice new skills. Any growers or employers interested in running the course for new staff are welcome to access the course material, which includes slide shows and lesson plans.
Find out how you can apply your skills to a career in New Zealand’s horticulture industry. Join the other 60,000 people in horticulture who are, leading the way in healthy sustainable food production.
By completing these taster courses, you will learn about the horticulture industry, from seed to plate. You will be awarded a digital badge, which will enable future employers to have confidence that you understand the context of the horticulture industry and are ready for a job in their company.
If you are interested in particular areas of horticulture and want to demonstrate this commitment to current or future employers you can complete a learning pathway. Each learning pathway consists of three courses which help you focus on a particular area of interest. When you successfully complete all courses in a pathway you will receive a Pathway badge. This badge demonstrates your commitment to the horticulture industry and will also provide you with an in-depth understanding of specific areas.
Before you choose your pathway, we encourage you to begin with Seed to Plate, this course will prepare you with the right tools to complete a pathway.
New Zealand feeds the world. In this pathway you will learn how we are getting the best quality produce to the world while looking after the environment and meeting consumer demands.
In this learning path you can find out about what happens on an orchard or in a cropping field. You will learn how to lead people and solve some of the big challenges facing orchards/cropping fields. You’ll discover how working on an orchard or in a cropping field is a rewarding and challenging career option.
In this learning path you can learn about the future of packhouses as well as how to keep people and produce safe. You’ll discover how we are making sure trustworthy produce is getting to the customer quickly.
Our land and our people are precious to us. In this pathway you’ll consider how to be a guardian of our land and our people. This pathway will give you the knowledge to make a positive impact on the land and the people who work on it.
