Home bakers are being encouraged to turn their hobby into a career to address a skills shortage which has forced many Northland hospitality businesses to buy in products instead of having them made on site.
Baking is on New Zealand's skills shortage list so to address the problem regionally, NorthTec is now offering a New Zealand certificate in baking (generalist), which gets under way in March next year.
Tutor Tracy Telfer, who is a trained pastry chef and has also run her own cafe in Whangārei, said Northland hospitality businesses had struggled to find bakers.
"That's why quite a lot of places end up buying product in pre-made - because they don't have people who can consistently bake good products."