“It’s quite prestigious. They accept only 11 cadets each year so it’s really hard to get into,” Gurr said.
The 16-year-old has spent the start of the school holidays honing skills he’ll need to help land the two-year cadetship.
He was one of 15 students, half from Northland, selected to attend a three-day leadership programme in Rotorua.
“I found it extremely rewarding and beneficial,” the Whangarei Boys’ High School student said.
“The sessions on sharpening your interview skills and building an eye-catching curriculum vitae were really useful.”
“Making your CV stand out is more than just listing your skills and experience,” he said.
Students were taught how to set goals, communicate confidently, manage their time and think critically.
The course, called Raising the Standards, was run by Young Farmers and funded by DairyNZ.
It was designed to enhance the skills of emerging leaders in high school TeenAg clubs.
“The aim is to increase students’ awareness of opportunities in the primary industries while helping to hone their leadership skills,” Young Farmers spokeswoman Mary Holmes said.
“They learned about different graduate programmes, the wide range of agri-related scholarships on offer and how some agribusinesses encourage secondments overseas.”
Students heard from numerous speakers, including agribusiness bankers and consultants, an agronomist, a dairy farmer and a vet.
The group toured Fonterra’s dairy factory in Reporoa, which produces a highly nutritious product, sodium caseinate, used in hospitals for sick patients.
“It was really interesting. It was eye-opening to see that there’s more to the dairy industry than milking cows,” he said.
“I knew there were other jobs in processing and research but not on the scale we saw.”
A highlight of the course for Gurr was developing new networks and meeting students from other TeenAg clubs.
“I met a guy who lives 20 minutes down the road from me. We go to different schools and didn’t know each other before the course,” he said.
“We’re already discussing how we might be able to help each other out.”
Gurr lives on an eight hectare lifestyle block with his family and works part-time on a dairy farm and Angus cattle stud at Waiotira.
He plans to start breeding his own easy-calving Angus herd.
“I’m focusing on Angus cattle which are short gestation with low birth weights,” he said.
“I already own a heifer and I plan to buy another eight to 12 animals from the stud where I work over the next few weeks.”
Gurr, who’s in year 12, will attend one of the open days at Smedley in June
The leadership course was attended by students from Whangarei Girls’ High School, Dargaville High School, Okaihau College and Huanui College.
It is the first of three planned for this year.
TeenAg clubs are a key part of the work being done by Young Farmers to attract students into the agri-food sector.
