News
5 June 2026
New Zealand’s future farmers, fencers, contractors and rural workers are already learning the ropes not from behind desks, but out in paddocks, yards and woolsheds across Horowhenua and Kāpiti. Photo & Article Credit: Frankie Webb, Horowhenua Chronicle
19 February 2026
Industry employers have an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of work-based learning in the food and fibre industry over the next few months.
2 December 2025
After fifty years in horticulture and vocational education, Primary ITO Training Adviser Dom ‘the dominator’ Steenstra is retiring on 5 December to pursue retirement, or possibly a new career pathway.
14 November 2025
Primary ITO vehicle and chainsaw micro-credentials are now available for self-employed owner-operators and people working in industries not related to the primary sector.
13 November 2025
Primary ITO learners and graduates featured strongly at the 2025 Young Horticulturalist of the Year Competition in Auckland on 6 November, with Canterbury nursery manager Jake Linklater winning the supreme title.
15 October 2025
This Rural Women’s Day, we turn the spotlight on Primary ITO executive director, Andrea Leslie.
23 June 2025
Primary ITO-qualified amenity horticulture apprentice River Foster gets to “explore the whole city through its gardens” in his role with the Wellington City Council parks team.
28 May 2025
Growing trusted relationships with industry is a vital part of the role for Primary ITO Sector Manager Mark Orr, who joined the team 17 years ago after running his own successful landscaping business.
19 May 2025
Primary ITO has launched a horticulture cadetship pilot in Pukekohe that will provide extra support to learners and free up employers to spend more time on their businesses.
4 April 2025
Adapting to life in another country is something Training Adviser Martina knows all about. After arriving in New Zealand on a working holiday visa over ten years ago, she has come full circle, now supporting work visa learners studying with Primary ITO.