Diploma
This programme will equip you with skills required by the ever-expanding commercial science sector, which encompasses increasingly automated food production, manufacturing and environmental management businesses.
Course content is made up of a mix of practical skills that you'll use every day, and theory relating directly to the modern STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) workplace. The course covers science, information literacy, quality management and essential soft skills such as teamwork, communication and ethics. It includes seven compulsory courses plus the opportunity to tailor your programme of study to your own interests with an elective in ICT, human nutrition or sports science.
You'll also learn about business imperatives and associated data interpretation and manipulation. The programme's IT component will take you well beyond the basics and into the fundamentals of manufacturing process monitoring and control.
Please note: continuation to the Level 6 New Zealand Diploma in Applied Science is highly recommended (employment outcomes for Level 6 graduates are on a par with degree graduates).
Available part-time up to 3 years.
Employment growth in high-tech manufacturing sectors such as dairy processing and biotechnology is forecast to increase substantially in the coming years. This qualification will give you this skills to work in environments that combine high production rates with expensive and complex equipment and which are subject to intensive quality monitoring, or in other science and technology sectors, including regulatory industries.