An industry with a wealth of career opportunities

Anne Hardie

At just 22, Alex Tomkins has landed a role working on projects aimed at improving the business of the country’s largest single-site packhouse.

Working with the head of business improvement at Trevelyan’s Pack and Cool in Te Puke, Alex’s new role as business improvement coordinator will first see her working in the packhouse through the avocado season, then shift to the role of assistant packhouse manager over the kiwifruit season. That will give her an understanding of packhouse operations needed for her new role.

Alex’s appointment follows a year at Southern Cross Horticulture where she learnt about kiwifruit orchard development and management through its graduate programme.

Forging a career in New Zealand’s food production industry has been her focus ever since spending six of her school years in Asia and seeing the high quality of New Zealand horticulture products in the supermarket.

Alex Tomkins has discovered there are numerous careers in horticulture that she didn't know existed

Alex spent her final two years of school back in New Zealand, studying agriculture and horticulture science. Field trips delving into the kiwifruit industry were lightbulb moments for her as they revealed the scale of the industry and the career opportunities within it.

A Bachelor of Agri Commerce degree at Massey University followed where she was one of a minority who had not grown up in horticulture or agriculture. That didn’t hold her back. She was named Rural Student of the Year in the academic section and also selected for the International Horticultural Immersion Programme – including a study tour with other young leaders to Europe and Asia.

When she completed her degree two years ago, she stepped out into the workforce with a goal of working toward supply chain management to get fresh produce to consumers around the world.

“Getting fruit to the consumers is pretty intricate when you are dealing with fresh produce which is perishable,” Alex says.

She is still interested in that path but has also discovered numerous careers in horticulture that interest her.

“I knew the kiwifruit industry was big and horticulture in general, but until I began working in it, I didn’t know some of those roles even existed.”

Alex would like to see the primary industries integrated into school curriculums more than they are now, such as in economics and accounting, so that students can see how they contribute to the New Zealand economy. That may attract more people to a career in the primary industries.

Her enthusiasm for the industry led to her selection for the Food & Fibre Youth Network Council which was created to give young people a voice in shaping the future of the food and fibre sector. It has been an opportunity to engage with the Ministry for Primary Industries and other stakeholders, plus network with a range of young people from different industries.

Each councillor is passionate about their sector, and though Covid-19 has made face-to-face meeting challenging since the network was established, Alex says the group has still been able to share ideas and raise industry issues.

 First published in the June 2022 issues of the Orchardist and NZGrower magazines.