WAP chief executive Chris Mason says young cadets will be spread around the province, 50:50 dairy and beef farm placements and the same ratio of male and female.
Last year 14 interns started the programme and seven finished Level 3, while some of those will go on to Level 4 Certificate in Agriculture this year in paid employment.
Those who did not complete had several reasons, including full-time employment opportunities and family circumstances.
Mason says the goodwill of Northland farmers as mentors of these cadets was outstanding, being prepared to tackle the nationwide shortage of young people entering agriculture.
“Farmers who had interns last year want to repeat and we have a sufficient number of new placements for the interns who have enrolled,” she said.
“Without their time and expertise this scheme wouldn’t work.”
The course provider Land Based Training of Whanganui has appointed a new tutor in the Far North, Peter Currie, and Malcolm Fuller will continue to tutor in the south.
Both tutors will get administrative assistance from Stephen Powey.
Interns spend one day a week in the classroom and four days on their placement farms.
“We will have two cohorts this year, one in the Far North and the other in Whangarei, to support our trainees from Kaitaia to Kumeu,” she said.
Trainees stay in Northland, close to their friends and families, and do not have to travel to the recognised farm training establishments elsewhere in the country.
“Pastoral care is part of our programme as school-leavers adjust to staying with the farming families and working longer hours,” she said.
Mason says flexibilities were being built into the programme as it developed, like some payments to first-year interns and the option to stay at home and travel to the farm each day.
Northland was pushing ahead with agricultural training and was very keen to demonstrate to the Government and education providers the local internship alternative to a one-size-fits-all Primary ITO model.
