Competition to promote careers in primary industry

Education Minister Hekia Parata and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy have launched an innovative new competition for Year 10 students helping to promote careers in the primary industries.

The Enterprising Primary Industries Career (EPIC) Challenge for 2014 requires school students to identify different careers within the primary industries and develop a strategy promoting them to the target market of Year 10 students.

“The challenge is about raising awareness of the many exciting careers that can be found in primary industries,” Ms Parata said.

“Complementing Vocational Pathways, the challenge will allow our children and young people to make more informed decisions about how their learning choices relate to their future employment possibilities.”

“There is a huge range of exciting careers in farming, fishing and horticulture as well as in marketing, remote sensing, robotics, chemical engineering, genetics, nutrition, policy, communications, product design, science and IT,” Mr Guy said.

“These industries are the powerhouse of our economy, generating around $35 billion a year in exports. They need skilled workers to keep driving New Zealand forward.

I’m confident this competition will open the eyes of Year 10 students to exciting career opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise have considered.

The Ministry for Primary Industries and Dairy NZ are co-sponsors of this competition run by the Young Enterprise Trust. The Challenge is being offered to all New Zealand schools free of charge.