Horticulture a massive growth industry
09 November 2021 | News
When you join the horticultural industry, you’ll be helping to lead the way towards a healthier, more sustainable future for food production.
NZ: The perfect environment
Aotearoa New Zealand is in an excellent position to help feed the world, due to its fresh and pure produce, which is grown from a healthy environment of clear UV light, pristine water, and variety of climates.
As a young country with slow soil turnover, there’s plenty of goodness in the ground to grow great food.
New Zealand’s horticulture industry had a $6.4 billion value in 2019 and that’s only going to increase, with the sector growing by 64% over the past decade due to investment in new varieties of crops, growing techniques, and harvest and post-harvest practices.
Career paths galore
Making a career out of looking after the land and delivering nutritious produce to Aotearoa and the rest of the world is an exceptionally rewarding undertaking. You might be involved in developing technology, growing food, or designing new products and selling them to the world.
New Zealand exports fruits and vegetables to 130 countries, as well as supplying the local food market. Career opportunities abound in production, science, technology and business. Learn more about potential career paths on the Go Horticulture website.
High employment
60,000 people are employed in the New Zealand horticulture industry.
Major economic value
The New Zealand horticulture industry was worth $6.4 billion in 2019.
Huge industry development
The New Zealand horticulture industry has grown by 64% over the past decade.
Wide-ranging produce
100+ different types of fruits and vegetables are grown in New Zealand.
Lincoln: An ideal training ground
Employers desperately need professionals with horticultural expertise and Lincoln University’s strong applied knowledge and research base offer the ideal environment for your training.
Lincoln offers a range of specialised qualifications – many of which are fees-free – that will prepare you to become a leader in the thriving horticultural industry and make you instantly employable in careers across the sector.
- The Bachelor of Commerce (Horticulture) is a three-year degree with a practical work component, giving you the skills to help drive the future growth of the food producing sectors.
- If you are already working in the industry, the 12-month Diploma in Horticultural Business – delivered mainly online – will broaden your business capabilities so you can further your career. The diploma is part of the Government’s Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund, meaning that until the end of 2022, the programme is free to eligible domestic students.
- Two other qualifications covered by the fund are the highly practical Diploma in Horticulture (which introduces you to a wide range of topics, including horticultural technology, production and management) and the Diploma in Horticultural Management (which focuses more strongly on production and management systems).
- The Postgraduate Diploma in Horticultural Science will expand your knowledge of production, processing, marketing, plant pathology and plant science, as well as viticulture, oenology and research. This programme includes a fee waiver, funded by Lincoln University.
- The Master of Horticultural Science includes advanced training and research in the aspects of science relevant to the horticultural industry.
All of Lincoln’s horticultural programmes offer skills that can be immediately put into practice, with exposure to real-world industry case studies and a problem-solving learning approach.
Apply now to begin growing your career in horticulture.
