Apprenticeship to lift pumping expertise

The New Zealand Apprenticeship in Dairy Systems (Engineering), a partnership of the industry training organisation Competenz and the New Zealand Milking & Pumping Trade Association (NZMPTA), will help businesses lift employees' skills, offer long-term career paths and support farmers in keeping their equipment working year-round.

"The NZMPTA has championed an apprenticeship for the dairy industry for many years and we're thrilled that, with the expertise of Competenz, it's now in place," says NZMPTA president and country manager of Grundfos Pumps, Simon Fletcher.

The apprenticeship will lead to a national qualification which "addresses the shortage of skilled tradespeople in the milk harvesting, pumping and water application sectors of the industry," Fletcher says.

"While it's largely engineering based, the apprenticeship is in a range of skills, knowledge and workmanship. It will help the industry attract new people and offer them career paths, lift the industry's skill levels and set consistent standards.

"Employers, employees and the farming clients we work with will all benefit."

NZMPTA member Steve Bromley, of Bromley Dairy & Pumps, Feilding, says his business will sign four staff members as apprentices and recruit a new apprentice.

Competenz industry manager Peter Ferguson says the NZMPTA has helped Competenz understand the technical skills dairy technicians need to work productively and safely, and to agree on the qualification's structure and content.

Ferguson comments that apprenticeships are a structured, proven way to build skills, in which "most learning takes place on the job".

"So apprentices are gaining practical skills directly relevant to the job they're doing."