Entry Level Qualifications
The entry level qualifications are in the process of being reviewed. The NZ Certificate in Primary Industry Skills (Level 2) and
the NZ Certificate in Primary Industry Operational Skills (Level 3) will be
replaced by New Zealand Certificates in Food and Fibre (Level 2 and 3).
The working group are refreshing the graduate profile outcomes to better reflect current industry requirements and have included the te ao Māori values in relation to communications skills and health and wellbeing.
The working group is currently in the final stages of refinement, once complete the drafts will go out to the public for consultation.
It's not too late to be a part of the review and join the
working group. Email the project team: AELproject@mukatangata.nz
Agriculture Qualifications
We have drafted three qualifications at Level 3, and
one at Level 4. Technical advisory groups will develop these
further.
- The proposed Level 3 qualifications will replace the existing qualifications, reducing duplication of learning, and providing an up-to-date approach to agriculture. They will give improved flexibility to learning, with clearer entry and exit points for the learner pathway.
- The proposed Level 4 qualification will reduce barriers to successful
completion that were identified during the information gathering stage of the project, and a clear pathway for further learning.
- We are looking at the existing Level 5 qualification, NZ Certificate in Primary Industry Production Management, examining its place in the current learner pathway, and determining how it can better serve ākonga and industries. There is also collaboration with the project team working on the Level 5 Diploma in Primary Industry Business Management (see below) to establish stronger connections to this qualification from either Level 4 or 5 agriculture qualifications.
Supporting ākonga Māori:
Support for ākonga Māori in the General Conditions section
of the qualifications with the following wording being considered:
“It is expected that programmes consider ngā kaupapa (the
principles) o te Tiriti o Waitangi and relevant te ao Māori values and
practices, and provide opportunities for ākonga to apply them as appropriate to
the subject matter and context.”
We feel that this will give guidance to, and place
expectations on providers to incorporate te Tiriti o Waitangi and te ao Māori
values, and give opportunities for external moderators to seek this with their
mahi – providers will be held accountable for not including this in their
resources and assessments.
In the Employment, Cultural and Community Pathway section,
we propose to include:
“Graduates will develop skills and knowledge that will allow
them to contribute to their community and will empower them to act as kaitiaki
for te taiao.”
Next steps:
- We are close to securing the support of a Te Ao Māori Advisor, who will oversee and support the inclusion of relevant and appropriate mātauranga within indicative content within skill standards– areas of guidance for providers – and the embedding of te ao Māori within all developed products.
- We are establishing additional Technical Advisory Groups, and are looking for subject matter experts in the following subject areas:
o Livestock – feeding, production, handling,
health
o Livestock breeding
o Dairy farming – milking plant, milk harvesting,
milk quality
o Environment – land, water, feed production
o Vehicles – basic maintenance and operation
o Infrastructure – fencing, water systems
o Health, Safety and Wellbeing
o Arable farming
New Zealand Diploma in Primary Business Management
We are planning and preparing for our review of this
qualification.
Expressions of interest closed in January, and we’re pleased to
have many industry experts keen to participate in the qualification development
project.
