Tuesday, February 8, 2011

New Zealand new aquaculture course begins

Mr Burdass, an aquaculture expert previously based in the United Kingdom, moved to Nelson in January to take up the role of diploma of aquaculture programme co-ordinator at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology ( NMIT).  The course started yesterday, and Mr Burdass said the first day had gone well, with the students all keen to get started. It has proved popular, with far more applicants than spaces for this first year, and five applications for 2012 already.

While the first week would be about outlining the course structure, students would soon get stuck into the real work, he said. Students were a mixture of ages and backgrounds. More than half of them are mature applicants looking to re-train. Some were already employed in the industry, and were taking a break from working to learn more.

The aquaculture industry has been identified as a huge potential source of growth for the country, and industry leaders are aiming to triple its size to more than NZ$1 billion a year by 2025. Nelson MP Nick Smith said he rated aquaculture as the most promising growth industry for Nelson over the next decade, and praised NMIT for the course.

"For us to take up these opportunities we need to invest in training to ensure we have the skills to support the industry's growth. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers


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