The NZHITO come into existance in 1992, after the Industry Training Act(1992) was passed by the government. The Industry Training Act formally recognised the role of the industry in setting the skill standards and administering the delivery of industry based training. The NZHITO is the recognised horticulture industry educational Standards Setting Body and we are responsible for the co-ordination and facilitation of all Horticulture Industry education and training requirements.

We were one of the first ITO's to be established, with the first official horticulture ITO trainee signing up in 1992. Prior to the establishment of the NZHITO, there were a number of different qualifications and training methods being used for industry training: apprenticeships, trade certificates, national certificates, cadetships.

Since 1992 the NZHITO has developed, reviewed and registered in excess of 300 horticulture unit standards with the NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority).

We currently offer eight National Certificates in Horticulture, which cover the industry sectors of; Amenity Horticulture, Fruit Production, Production Horticulture, Landscape, Nursery Production, Viticulture, Floristry, Arboriculture.

Today the we have more than 1800 people registered with the NZHITO doing horticulture based training, of these approximately one/third are Modern Apprentices.

These trainees are assessed by one of the approximately 750 active workplace assessors and trainers within the horticulture industry.