Source: Eastern Institute of Technology
11 hours ago
Three staff members from Ngāi Tukairangi Trust are enhancing their careers in the kiwifruit industry by combining hands-on experience with academic study at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT).
Kevin Kooijman, Maria Edmonds and Janiva Singh (Ngāti Kahungunu) have each completed Level 3 of the Horticulture Apprenticeship Programme and are now working towards Level 4. Based at Ngāi Tukairangi’s Hawke’s Bay kiwifruit orchard, they say their study through
Maria Edmonds (left), Janiva Singh and Kevin Kooijman are progressing through EIT’s Horticulture Apprenticeship Programme while working at Ngāi Tukairangi’s Hawke’s Bay orchard.
EIT’s Hawke’s Bay campus has given them the knowledge and confidence to grow in the industry.
Maria joined Ngāi Tukairangi five years ago after almost a decade in the hospitality industry.
“Horticulture gave me the mum-friendly hours hospitality couldn’t, and I also noticed there weren’t many women in management roles, especially outside of HR. I wanted to change that,” she said.
Now a Vine Manager overseeing 60 hectares of kiwifruit, Maria praised EIT for adapting its pipfruit-based content to suit their needs.
“They’ve let us do things from a kiwifruit perspective and even set up kiwifruit bays using plants we provided.”
With more than a decade of experience in orcharding, Vine Supervisor Kevin was initially hesitant to return to study. But Kevin is now an advocate for upskilling, having discovered how much there still is to learn.
“I used to think you had to be on the orchard to really learn. But I was surprised by how much I picked up through the course, especially the soil science. Learning the technical terms has made it easier to explain things to my team.”
He plans to enrol in Level 5 next year and says classroom-based learning has worked well for him.
“I’d recommend it to anyone, even if you’ve been in the industry 15 years. You don’t know everything. There’s always more to learn.”
At 24, Janiva is the newest to horticulture of the three. She works as an orchardist at Ngāi Tukairangi and began studying at EIT soon after joining the team.
“I had no experience with kiwifruit or horticulture. But the study answered a lot of the questions I had out in the field. It made everything click,” she said.
She said the combination of practical and theoretical learning helped accelerate her understanding and allowed her to step into more responsibility.
“I want to learn the orchard from the ground up, understand every role, and then work my way into management. That’s the goal.”
The move into horticulture has also deepened her sense of cultural connection.
“As a wahine Māori, I believe we have a role to protect our whenua and act as kaitiaki. Working in this industry has helped me live that value.
It’s been both challenging and rewarding,” she said.
All three credit their study at EIT and the support of their employer for helping them build skills and grow in confidence.
“Before I started studying, there didn’t seem to be a lot of room for growth,” Maria said. “Now I know exactly what I need to do, and I’ve been able to take on more and more.”
Their stories highlight the value of accessible training and supportive workplaces in developing talent across the horticulture sector.
Ngāi Tukairangi Area Manager Liam Sykes said the EIT programme has been a valuable development pathway for their staff.
An EIT graduate himself, Sykes said it helped spark his own passion for horticulture and is something he now encourages all staff to take up.
“We’ve been avid users of the programme since entering the horticulture space in 2017. It gives a broad understanding of the industry, really good tools, and that extra bit of science to understand how we grow fruit,” he said.
“It also gets their brains firing. It makes them question what we do on orchard, pose questions to our managers, and creates really good discussion points.”
Liam said there is also a strong sense of achievement among staff, pointing to Kevin as a standout example.
“Kevin got 100 per cent in one of his classes. He’s super proud of it, and we regularly use it as an example of our guys excelling.”
Clare Buckner, Program Co-ordinator of the Fruit Production qualifications, says: “EIT is proud to partner with horticultural businesses like
Ngāi Tukairangi, and we endeavour to have flexibility in our programs to meet industry needs”.
“It is rewarding to see these efforts being appreciated. We have strong, individual relationships with all our ākonga and their managers, and feel genuinely supported and valued by this essential Hawkes Bay industry.”
