If you love working outdoors, with animals, and are passionate about animal care, enrol in the New Zealand Certificate in Animal Technology (Rural Animal Technician). You'll learn how to assist veterinarians in large animal or mixed practice, or work independently in areas such as herd/flock testing, reproduction, lab analysis and large animal health.
Our graduates are skilled and ready to work in a veterinary clinic or independently as a rural animal technician under the direction of a veterinarian.
40 weeks full-time
This programme is eligible for the Zero Fees Scheme.
This programme provides a strong mix of theory and practical skills using an integrated theory/practical approach. Students will complete activities at Telford and on farms with at least 240 hours of approved work placements during the year.
The programme contains the following:
Graduates of this qualification may be employed in a veterinary clinic that specialises in rural animals and horses, stud farms, working for livestock improvement, artificial breeding programmes, food assurance, or biosecurity organisations.
For the Rural Animal Technician strand applicants should:
For those people entering this qualification the following entry requirements apply:
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.
Certificate at Level 5
Student's First Day Requirements:
Please bring your Driver's Licence and also note that you are required to have reliable transport to attend work placements as you will complete a minimum of 240 hours of approved strand related work experience for this programme. Placement weeks will usually be undertaken by the student during the term breaks unless approved otherwise.
To satisfactorily complete New Zealand Certificate in Animal Technology (Level 5) with strands in Rural Animal Technician and Veterinary Nursing Assistant and be awarded this qualification the student must successfully achieve: -
Rural Animal Technician strand:
The student will normally be expected to complete each strand of the New Zealand Certificate in Animal Technology (Level 5) with strands in Rural Animal Technician and Veterinary Nursing Assistant full-time over 34 tutorial weeks or part-time over two years.
(Please note; students failing to attend for 80% of timetabled programme hours may forfeit zero fees entitlement)
This qualification may lead to further study in Veterinary Nursing or Bachelor-level veterinary technician study.