Blackledge said it was great to have the pro-am tournament at the club.
"We are looking forward to having the pros here and the status it will give the tournament.
"We were approached by the New Zealand PGA to see whether or not we could include professionals in our open tournament," he said.
"[It's about] mixing pros up with amateurs so amateurs get the opportunity to play with pros, and it gives the open tournament a bit of a boost."
The tournament will be different to a normal pro-am competition, which usually sees sponsors paying to play alongside the pros.
New Zealand PGA education manager Dominic Sainsbury said 36 trainees would play from across the country.
A strong amateur field is also expected with order of merit points up for grabs for players in the Bay of Plenty, Auckland, North Harbour and Waikato.
He said other playing professionals could also enter, at the club's discretion, but they would not be eligible for the $8000 prizemoney which was set aside for the trainees.
Sainsbury said in coming years the Rotorua Open could become a strong pro-am tournament.
"Ideally we would like to have all the top pros come to Rotorua," he said. "That is what we want to see next year."
He said to attract New Zealand's top playing professionals the Rotorua Open would need sponsors to come on board to boost prizemoney.
Sainsbury said the Rotorua Golf Club was well known as a great course and was a good fit for the New Zealand PGA Trainee Championship.
"It is a great golf course, one of the best in the country, and it is steeped in really good golfing tradition."
