Professional development will no longer consist of quick homework in the ute between jobs, Apiculture New Zealand skills and education group chairman Stuart Fraser said.
“We want structured learning to verify what is understood and achieved.
“I have a vision of my professional development time is on a Tuesday morning between 8 and 10. The days of grabbing your notebook and scribbling a couple of questions when you’ve driving out to the site, they’re gone.”
NZ has 8000 registered beekeepers, twice the number of five years ago.
An apprenticeship in apiculture will teach seasonal planning and hive management through to the art of managing a queen bee.
The honey industry has about 900,000 registered hives and Fraser said there is strong interest in the apprentice certificates from recreational hobby beekeepers to family businesses and corporates.
The apprenticeships will be for anyone over age 16 and comprise a full apprenticeship from the gateway level two primer course to level four. The full programme might take two to more than three years to complete.
Beekeepers and honey manufacturers have offered a variety of training plans but this is the first time the industry had agreed on standard content, Fraser said.
“The last 15-20 years, there have been different iterations of standards and qualifications offered by various ITOs. Some businesses have developed their own courses but there has always been discussion as to where the standard really sat.”
Smartphones and video have opened a new way to teach but delivering the training online is just part of bringing the industry into line with other workplaces.
“We’re stepping into the modern world and we’re going to use technology to deliver this.”
Training partner Primary ITO will teach core beekeeping skills and trade know-how to confidently run an independent, smaller-scale business or become a qualified beekeeper in a bigger operation.
The courses include a three-year certificate in apiculture and an option to continue into a year four diploma in apiculture. An apprentice will pay $999 a year and the employer/business a one-off $299, regardless of how many staff they are training in a particular year.
Apiculture NZ’s website says 90% of the course will be on-the-job learning and the remainder E-learning. Paperwork will be minimal and students will be able to complete the training as soon as they are able.
Students will need NCEA level one or equivalent to start training and if they change employers they will be able to continue the programme elsewhere.
Eight businesses have enrolled about a dozen students for an upcoming pilot programme for the courses. The Apiculture NZ conference in July will get more detail about the training and qualifications.
