Horticulture is a great industry to work in – growing healthy food, offering a healthy lifestyle, and presenting plenty of opportunities for a long career. New Zealand has eight main growing regions with each region’s unique environment suiting different crops. On the crop side you could:

• harvest fruit and/or vegetables
• pack and sort fruit and vegetables
• prune fruit trees
• maintain crops
• be involved in summer pruning, planting or thinning.

No experience in horticulture? No problem. For many seasonal or crop based jobs, full training is provided. All you need is fitness and reliability – and to bring along your enthusiasm!

On the business side you could be involved in:

• sales and marketing
• science and technology
• market access offshore
• and all the office roles such as accounting, legal and HR

While some experience is likely to be required for these jobs, plenty of people work their way into the business side from a field role.

New Zealand’s highly successful wine industry is set to achieve $2bn in exports by 2020.

You can be a part of this success by taking up one of the many opportunities that exist for seasonal workers within our vineyards, wineries and cellar doors.

There are year-round positions available to assist with winter and summer maintenance in vineyards, including pruning the vines and harvesting the grapes. There are also many roles within New Zealand’s 700 plus wineries and opportunities to deal directly with customers at the beautiful cellar doors around the North and South Island.

Jobs include:

• Winery cellar door hands and operations
• Vineyard maintenance, planting and pruning
• Vintage (the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product)
• Retail and hospitality roles in restaurants and cellar doors

The tourism industry is made up of a wide range of businesses from large stock exchange-listed companies through to small businesses such as bed and breakfast operators. Tourism is a complex industry that involves a broad range of businesses, organisations and government agencies. They work together at different levels to deliver a complete tourism package. Each party in the chain contributes to the overall holiday experience of the customer - from initial destination marketing through to the ground level experience.

The sector provides value to industries within New Zealand that add tourism experiences to their product offering, such as farm stays, factory tours and wineries. Tourism helps drive regional economic growth and supports the revitalisation of towns and communities. This in turn creates employment opportunities and helps build regional pride.

Tourism plays a significant role in the New Zealand economy in terms of production of goods and services. It creates employment and directly and indirectly supports 13.2% of the total number of people employed in New Zealand.

The Hospitality sector in New Zealand employs over 150,000 people and is a fast growing industry with increasing demand for employees. Much of this growth is fuelled by increasing visitor numbers both international and domestic.

For job seekers the hospitality industry offers many short and long term opportunities including:

• Kitchen based roles such as Chef's, Cooks, Bakers and Kitchen stewards etc
• Accommodation roles can include Housekeepers, Office Assistants/Receptionist, Office Manager and Reservation Manager
• General hospitality roles include Waiters, Bartenders and Restaurant or Bar Managers
• Roles such as Chefs and Front of House Managers are constantly in demand and can offer good long term career pathways

New Zealand’s meat industry is one of New Zealand’s largest industries, with exports of more than $7 billion a year and employing about 25,000 people in 60 processing plants nationwide.

There are year round opportunities in the industry, ranging from working in the stockyards, the processing chains, and the coldstores. Generally, meat processing is busiest over summer months (when farmers shift their sheep and cattle off pastures) and quietest over winter months (when many processing plants will take the opportunity to undergo plant maintenance, etc).

There are plenty of opportunities available to people who are willing to work in the industry. The industry is willing to take anyone willing and able to work, and offers extensive training opportunities. Many people begin as seasonal workers and end up pursuing careers in the industry. The main requirements for working in meat processing are you must be:

• Physically able and coordinated (such as able to use knives).
• Able to follow company food safety and health and safety requirements.
• Able to work in a team environment on a production chain.
• Punctual and reliable.
• Must be available for shifts at night and in the weekend when required.
• A New Zealand citizen or legal right to work.
• Must be able to pass pre-employment drug testing.

We catch, farm and process New Zealand’s premium fish and shellfish.

New Zealand seafood is in high demand overseas because of its freshness and because it comes from sustainable sources.

We employ around 20 thousand people and export almost two billion dollars’ worth of seafood each year.

The New Zealand ski industry represents a wide variety of opportunities for your career.

Our ski areas have job opportunities in food and beverage, lift operations, rental assistants, retail, terrain park, snowmaking and snow grooming

Forestry is of major importance to New Zealand's economy. Within the Forestry Industry is Silviculture, which involves the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of growing and tending forest crops.

The Government has set a goal to plant one billion trees by 2028. The One Billion Trees Programme, led by Te Uru Rākau (Forestry New Zealand) and funded by the Provincial Growth Fund will create employment and workforce development, protect the environment and support New Zealand’s transition to a low emissions economy. This programme will deliver improved social, environmental, and economic outcomes for New Zealand.

There are a variety of tasks and skills that contribute to the Silviculture Industry with specific seasonal time parameters for each task.

Jobs Include:

Scrubcutting / land preparation:

• Using brushcutter type machines to clear away unwanted vegetation prior to planning.
• Normally tasked for October to March.
• Med-low skill set.

Planting:

• The planting of Pine/Manuka/Red Wood/Native seedlings to establish commercial forests
• Usually done in winter from the start of May to the end of September.
• Qualifications not necessary but it is an extremely physical job.
• Numbers of staff required per contractor would get up to 50+ in some instances.

Releasing:

• Spraying competing pasture/weeds from the vicinity of the crop seedling.
• Is done after planting has been completed, up to November.
• Low skilled but still physical carrying 15kg spraypacks.
• Numbers of staff depend on site pre-treatment.
• 15-20% of planted area is manually released.

Pruning:

• Removal of tree's lower limbs primarily to produce clear wood.
• Can be done any time but usually done over Spring-Summer- Autumn.
• It must be emphasized that Radiata Pine pruning has nothing to do with pruning kiwifruit. Skills are not compatible.
• Qualifications are not necessary, but it requires a high degree of skill and physical ability.
• Sub groups are First lift, Second lift, Third lift with corresponding higher ladder heights.

Thinning:

• Reducing the stocking rate in a forest to encourage good form without undue growth suppression.
• Forest reduction thinning usually done outside the high fire risk period being mid November to March but likely to be all year around.
• All very dependent on local climatic conditions. It normally requires qualifications for either <200mm trunk or >200mm trunk.
• Non-qualified workers are also accepted if they have (vast) experience that deems them competent.
• Numbers required 15% of forest workload given numbers of Native and Manuka being planted.

With more than 35,000 retail premises you will find the sector offers great variety with no 2 days being the same, different stores also vary depending on;

• where they are located,
• the owner or manager,
• what roles are available,
• who their customers are,
• what products are being sold.

As an example, you may find work in some of the following areas. (but not limited to just this).

• In the shop, helping to serve customer, or operating a till.
• In the stockroom, looking after inwards stock or returns and stocking shelves.
• Learning about products, pricing and merchandising (where to position items in a store).
• Or there could be a digital focus where a store uses social media or has an online presence

There are lots of possibilities and opportunities for casual, part time, full time work. A retail role can be a job or a long-term career.