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Richard Wanhill.
Fifty three students will take part this week in a three day agricultural careers "taster" course at Taratahi in the Wairarapa.
Business development manager Richard Wanhill says it’s the most students the institution has had on a taster course for a number of years.
"It shows that the efforts of Taratahi and the wider primary industry to encourage young people into agriculture is yielding some positive results. We have been working with our stakeholders to reach out to school students to show them that the primary sector provides a wealth of career opportunities.
"In particular we have worked hard to inform prospective students from the city, that there are a range of interesting career options in what is now a very complex and rewarding sector.”
"There has been strong demand for Taratahi’s 2017 courses with 300 students already enrolled in a range of programmes for 2017 at Taratahi’s seven campuses around the country. We expect to meet our targets which include the Wairarapa residential campus being fully booked."
Taratahi was delighted to receive most of the funding it requested from Tertiary Education Commission for 2017 as well, says Wanhill.
"The 2017 funding was made contestable so securing as much funding as we have is more satisfying. It shows that TEC has confidence in our ability to deliver quality programmes which in turn results in skilled and motivated graduates for the primary industries.
"An extra area of interest is the increasing demand from agricultural service organisations seeking practical on farm experiences for their staff and we anticipate this market will continue to expand.
"Taratahi also provides training and expertise in setting up agricultural training off shore. We are working to expand this sector as our international reputation for the quality of our training and consultancy services grows. Taratahi is fortunate to have many opportunities in the international education market.
"We are expecting students from a range of different countries such as Chile, Myanmar, Samoa and India, to take part in a variety of courses on campus in 2017 as well."
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