Eight young Maori from Taranaki have just finished their first week of both written and practical instruction in all aspects of dairying, at the Land Based Training facility near Hawera.
The year-long course is the result of a combined vision by the owners Te Rua o Te Moko, a 190-hectare dairy farm which is a joint venture between five Maori-owned blocks of land.
Te Rua o Te Moko director Doug Brooks says the aim is to give young people with no farming skills the chance to be trained so they can take up farming as a career.
Mr Brooks says the course covers everything from learning how to build a farm fence to tool management, using a chainsaw, and learning how to drive a tractor and maintain farm machinery, as well painting, building and milking.
The course is set up for the trainees to achieve a level three National Certificate by the end of the year.
Maori landowners want to encourage as many rangatahi as possible to work on farms which will provide benefits in the future for all whanau in the rohe, he says.
