Good News for Central Otago's Wine Industry

It has proven to be a vintage year for Central Otago Polytechnic’s Diploma in Viticulture (Level 5), with a record 45 students participating in the programme this year.

Nick Mills, President of the Central Otago Winegrowers Association, says he is thrilled about the number of students the programme is attracting.

“This is great news for the wine industry. It means we’ll potentially see a lot of educated and highly skilled people entering the industry – many applying their talents locally.”

Viticulture lecturer Raewyn Paviour says the success of the programme is an example of what can be achieved when industry and education providers work together.

“Our work as a polytechnic has to be relevant to our students and to their career paths, which means we need to have a good understanding of what the industry needs from our qualifications.”

The Polytechnic has introduced a number of changes to the programme to ensure its ongoing relevance, Raewyn says, including allowing students to continue to work full-time and study towards their qualification through a fully supported e-learning distance programme.

“This way students can start whenever they like throughout the year and can literally be anywhere in the world. Most of our students work locally, but we do have others in Gisborne, Waipara and Australia.
 
“Many of our diploma students work as supervisors or managers in vineyards while they’re studying. It’s a cost effective way for them to gain their qualification and they love the real life hands-on approach to learning.”