Dairy staff from overseas can still access training courses with subsidised fees after further changes by the government.
The Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) recently announced targeted exemptions to subsidise work-based learning that was in the national interest.
Along with meat boning and sea kayaking, a range of dairy courses up to Level Four including operating a quad bike and milk harvesting were included in the new list.
Since 2020, most dairy farming staff, including those on a working visa, had benefited from subsidised fees, Primary ITO’s executive director Nigel Philpott said.
“Staff could enrol for approved dairy farm training as long as their programme could be completed within the duration of their visa.
“The learner fees were then covered by the government’s Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund (TTAF) as part of the response to Covid-19,” he said.
TTAF finished at the end of last year and has now been replaced by the TEC Non-Domestic Learner Exemptions list which was designed to meet the Government’s objective of achieving a higher-skilled migrant workforce with the right skill mix to support economic recovery.
For courses on the list, the fees for non-domestic learners were subsidised for people in specific dairy farming roles based on Immigration NZ’s new policy settings. These eligible roles included dairy farm managers, assistant farm managers and herd managers.
“They are employed on dairy farms, so are not international students as such because the main reason for them being in New Zealand is for work rather than study,” Nigel said.
Those employed in the immigration green list roles pay the same for training as New Zealand citizens or residents, provided the training is on the TEC’s list of approved programmes.
More than half of Primary ITO dairy farmer learners, about 2400 people, were work visa holders in 2018, prior to covid border restrictions, Nigel said.
“Last year that proportion was around one-third of new dairy farming enrolments – approximately 700 learners.”
Staff not on the green list, on working holiday visas or studying non-approved programmes were still able to enrol in training but would have to pay non-domestic learner fees which were about three times the cost.
“We know New Zealand dairy farms need skilled workers and are prepared to invest in their people.
“During the past years there has been strong uptake of dairy apprenticeships as well as shorter programmes like micro-credentials.
“For work visa holders, micro-credentials have been important ways for workers to learn new skills that they can apply immediately on the job.”
The agricultural-related courses have been approved by Muka Tangata, the government’s people, food and fibre Workforce Development Council.
