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New Zealand Certificate in Sustainable Primary Production (Level 4)

Course details

New Zealand Certificate in Sustainable Primary Production (Level 4)
NZQF Level 4

About the course

Are you involved in a primary industry and looking to learn more about sustainability? Would you like to learn more about how to work in a self-managing capacity by implementing practices and initiatives that will bring long-term benefits to your community and the environment? The New Zealand Certificate in Sustainable Primary Production may be the qualification you've been looking for.

The aims of the qualification are as follows:

  • To gain skills and knowledge that are directly relevant to day-to-day sustainable management of land-based production operations
  • To enable further training in the area of sustainable management
  • To provide a programme of study that will enhance the knowledge base of land based sustainability practices for those working or intending to work in the sector

Entry requirements

School Leavers

Applicants should be a minimum of 16 years of age, and have attained NCEA Level 2 as follows:

60 credits at level 2 or above, plus 20 credits from any level, and  
Literacy – minimum of 10 credits at Level 1 or above through either specified assessment standards available through a range of subject and English for Academic Purposes unit standards 22750 and 22751 (minimum total of 10 credits), or unit standards - package of three literacy unit standards (26622, 26624, 26625 - all three required)
Numeracy – a minimum of 10 credits at Level 1 or above through either achievement standards – specified assessment standards available through a range of subject (minimum total of 10 credits), or unit standards - package of three numeracy unit standards (26623, 26626, 26627 - all three required)

Mature Applicants

Applicants over the age of 20 years at time of enrolment will be considered where they can demonstrate the ability to succeed in a programme. Examples of demonstration of ability to succeed are the provision of evidence of successful completion of a programme of study at level 2 or above and/or employment in the related sector for one or more years. They may be admitted subject to programme regulations approved by the Head of Faculty in consultation with the Programme Manager as appropriate. Personal commitment and a belief in one’s own ability to succeed are important personal traits and will always be taken into consideration during the selection process.

English Language Requirements

Applicants, whose first language is not English, or who come from a country where the language of instruction in schools is not English, are required to provide evidence of having achieved one of the following

NCEA Level 3 with University Entrance, or

an International Baccalaureate Diploma or Cambridge A- level qualification for which the teaching and assessment was conducted in English; or

Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA),or Trinity College London Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL);or

Successful completion of all primary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand primary school years 1 to 8) and at least three years of secondary education (being the equivalent of three years from New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand,,Australia,Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States one of the countries listed in Rule 18.5 where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or

Successful completion of at least five years of secondary education (being the equivalent of New Zealand secondary school years 9 to 13) at schools in either New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States where the student was taught using English as the language of instruction; or

Successful completion of a Bachelor's Degree, Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma, Bachelor Honours degree, Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, Masters' Degree or Doctoral Degree, the language of instruction of which must be in English and which must be from a tertiary education provider from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United Kingdom or the United States or

Successful completion of one of the following internationally recognised proficiency tests listed below to the level required of the programme of study and with all scores achieved in a single test during the two years preceding the proposed date of enrolment


IELTS test - General or Academic score of 5.5 with no band score lower than 5
TOEFL Paper based test (pBT) - Score of 530 (with an essay score of 4.5 TWE)
TOEFL Internet based test (iBT) - Score of 46 (with a writing score of 14)
Cambridge English Examination - B2 First or B2First for schools with a score of 162. No less than 154 in each skill.
OET - Minimum of Grade C or 200 in all sub-tests
NZCEL - a) Expiring Level b) Current: a) Level 3 (Academic) b) Level 3 (Applied)
Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE (Academic) score of 42 with no band score lower than 36
Language Cert - B2 Communicator IESOL (LRWS) with PASS and no less than Pass in each skill
Trinity ISE - ISE II with no less than pass in any band

* New versions of some NZCEL qualifications, and in some cases new qualifications, were published on 13 June 2017. These are intended to replace pre-existing versions and qualifications, which have been given expiring status until discontinued on 31 December 2019. (a) denotes expiring (b) denotes current

About the provider

Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) provides quality tertiary education and training across a wide range of subjects and qualifications. From certificates to postgraduate studies, we offer NZQA programmes for students to learn at a level and pathway that suits them.

We are home to the Zero Fees Scheme and are the only tertiary provider in New Zealand to offer a no tuition cost education to domestic NZ students for every year of study, at all levels.

We offer SIT programmes at campuses in Invercargill, Christchurch, Queenstown, Gore, Auckland and online through SIT2LRN Distance Learning.

We also have specialised faculties in music and rural education - MAINZ – Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand (Auckland & Christchurch) and Telford in Balclutha, South Otago.

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