Certificate of Rural Leadership

Bronwyn Walters is not afraid to speak her mind after completing the rural leadership course.

The course

The Certificate of Rural Leadership began two years ago as the Rural Leadership Development Programme, an initiative by New Zealand Young Farmers for young people involved in rural life and business.

It is now a level three, NZQA accredited course offered nationwide by the Masterton-based Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre in conjunction with horticulture and agriculture industry training organisations.

The Rural Leadership Development Programme (RLDP) is designed for people in rural areas interested in becoming more involved in their communities and industries.

Facilitators, who offer the course for groups of up to 15 people, are based in Northland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, East Coast and Taranaki, Manawatu, Tasman, Canterbury, and Otago/Southland.

The part-time course is made up of nine, six-hour or day-long modules, usually held every three to four weeks. Students spend a maximum of nine months undertaking the course.

Students study public speaking, communication, leadership behaviours, meeting procedure, group dynamics, strategic planning, and marketing.

Assessment is by teamwork and activities, written assignments and a ten-minute speech.

The course costs $300 and the next one starts in Canterbury and Waikato/Bay of Plenty this month while applications close on January 25 for courses starting in February.

The course is designed to complement existing theoretical and practical skills and develop students' confidence and ability to work with and lead or mentor others.

The student

Bronwyn Walters, 32,
Horticulture apprentice
Kamo
Graduated this year

I'm doing a horticulture apprenticeship and I got given an application (for the RLDP) by the area apprentice supervisor. I work for Valley View Orchards - a persimmon orchard owned by my parents - and I'm in the second year of my apprenticeship. Under the apprenticeship I study things like pest management, other field crops including flowers, landscaping, and running an orchard.

With the RLDP you are realising goals. You meet once a month, which took a bit of getting used to because it's a long time in between. But it turned out to be good because you get to use what you learn between classes. There was a wide range of people on the course. Most were farmers and not in horticulture like me. We met in Wellsford or Whangarei. Each session was different - communicating, public speaking, presentation - some were majorly out of my comfort zone. The goal setting emphasises self, where you are going in life, which wasn't something I'd really thought of before. Public speaking was harder than childbirth but I did it and was proud of myself. I'm now happy to speak in public and to staff, to say what I mean and not beat around the bush. I'd like to do more leadership courses, try out some others as they are all different and maybe later do Toastmasters. I really enjoyed it, the tutor was very powerful and really coached us through.

The employer

Lindsay Wells
Orchard owner
Kamo

We're expanding our business, which includes 3ha of lemons, 12ha of persimmons and a packhouse. We have seven full time staff and we needed someone to take control in the packhouse. Bronwyn had come back from Perth and wanted to get into horticulture.

She's now a MAF-accredited quality controller but she needed skills to take leadership in the packhouse. We encouraged her to do the course and will most definitely encourage other apprentices.

It's given her good communication skills. In a business meeting she'll take control and speak with confidence. When I asked her what she wanted to do she said: "I want your job". I'd like to see Bronwyn take over my position at Valley View Orchards.

The qualification

Certificate of Rural Leadership
Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre
Phone: 0800 827 282