Kiwifruit block to help learning at Te Puke High School

Te Puke High School’s new horticulture teacher Saskia Ualesi is looking forward to helping build the school’s first kiwifruit block later this year. Photo / Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media Services

It’s an industry that produces billions of dollars in export revenue and employs more than 60,000 people.

But as New Zealand’s horticulture sector grows, so does the need for skilled workers.

Education, experts say, is the key to a strong future, and it’s also where passionate teachers can help change the perception of horticulture as a career.

Horticulture and agriculture science are being taught in nearly 350 Kiwi classrooms, with agribusiness a subject option in more than 100 schools.

It is in these classrooms future industry leaders sit, young minds are nurtured, and career pathways are created.

In the Bay of Plenty, where the heart of horticulture beats, some schools are already planting that seed for budding horticulturalists.

Among those schools is Te Puke High School, where new horticulture teacher Saskia Ualesi is settling in.

Although Ualesi has never worked with kiwifruit, a passion for learning and for her students is set to trump history.

Plus, as they say, you learn more from what you teach. And what better place to learn than in the kiwifruit capital of the world?

The future site of the kiwifruit block to be planted at Te Puke High School. Photo / Jamie Troughton/Dscribe Media Services

Te Puke High School, with the help of Zespri and Southern Cross Horticulture, is putting in a single bay of gold kiwifruit for students to learn about the industry, with work set to begin midway through this school year.

“We do want it to be realistic,” Ualesi says. “We want it to be a small-scale version of the real thing. We want them to be able to thin and prune and understand the whole process from start to finish.”

Starting from scratch means the students will get to be part of the whole process.

Ualesi says the plan is to offer students the opportunity to gain NCEA achievement and unit standards for primary industries and grow a career path in horticulture.

“We want to be creating kids who are going to go out and manage orchards one day.”

An initially small group of about 60 students across Year 11, 12, and 13 classes will learn practical skills needed to one day help grow the workforce.

And where her own knowledge ends, Ualesi wants to harness the vast industry knowledge right on her doorstep and is keen to hear from any local growers who are keen to share their industry wisdom.

“The goal is by the time they finish Year 12, they are at a level in skills where they are hireable. If they have no kiwifruit skills in this area, it is a bit of a loss.”

Driving horticulture forward

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated chief executive Colin Bond. Photo / Quinn O'Connell

One of the Kiwifruit Growers Association’s core pieces of work is ensuring kiwifruit is taught in schools.

NZKGI chief executive Colin Bond says NZKGI promotes horticulture as a secondary school subject and maintains relationships with key staff, including agriculture and horticulture teachers, and career advisors.

The organisation also gives in-class presentations and attends career expos across the region, and produces a 185-page biennial publication - titled The Kiwifruit Book - that covers all aspects of the industry, from orchard practices to relevant data related to international marketing and the exportation of kiwifruit.

Bond says its Bay of Plenty Young Grower competition has become a significant platform for emerging horticulture talent.

Bond says the competition serves as an invaluable learning experience for the participants.

“They will have the opportunity to network with industry leaders, exchange ideas, and gain insights into the latest techniques and practices driving the horticulture sector forward.”

As students look for future job opportunities, NZKGI also advocates for the kiwifruit industry and promotes roles at orientation and open day events at tertiary institutes, as well as collaborates with stakeholders including the Ministry of Social Development who offer jobseeker webinars.

NZKGI is also heavily involved in the Review of Vocational Education, set out to create a unified, sustainable vocational education system fit for the future of work and deliver the skills learners, employers and communities need to thrive.