11734
New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Level 3) - ONLINE
- SIT2LRN Distance Learning
Qualification:
Certificate
Level:
3
Dates:
2025 Intake 1: 01 September to 24 April - Applications Close 25 August 2025
Duration:
Part-time over 36 weeks or up to two years
Location:
Credits:
65
Get into apiculture with a certification to show your skills, knowledge and ability to work safely and productively in a beekeeping environment.
You will learn to maintain, manipulate and operate beehives to produce quality products and pollination services; assist transportation of beehives and products; establish hives in new sites and carry out beehive disease management plans.
Topics that will be covered:
Bees and their habitat
Bee Manipulation
Requeening
Honeyflow
Bee and Hive health
Bee Feeding
You will be able to manage your own beehive, enter the apiculture industry or progress in your apiculture career with this qualification.
This course is delivered online.
ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥ will need to have access to at least a dozen working hives (that have been wintered) and be able to take and upload video evidence for assessment purposes.
Course Content
There are unit standard assessments in this programme. Ākonga will be eligible to be awarded all the unit standards associated with a course at the completion of that course.
Assessment in this programme is competency-based. Ākonga must successfully complete all specified assessment items in order to pass each course.
AGRI3201
Bee Keeping Fundamentals – 15 Credits
AGRI3202
Manipulating Beehives – 20 Credits
Learning Outcomes:
Describe bee biology and identify the link between whenua, plants and bees, to support beekeeping operations.
Identify regulations, protective safety equipment requirements, and materials for beehive inspection and construction.
Construct and maintain boxes and frames used in beekeeping.
Learning Outcomes:
Manipulate beehives to maximise honey production or pollination.
Manage hives safely throughout the seasons to optimise honey production or pollination.
Operate safe harvesting, transport and extraction of honey.
Unit Standards:
30798 Demonstrate knowledge of bees, the bee life cycle and adult bee behaviour patterns.
30843 Identify and describe beehive construction equipment, and construct and repair beehives.
30788 Demonstrate knowledge of plants that provide feed for bees and harvest declarations.
Unit Standards:
30785 Describe re-queening and re-queen a beehive.
30799 Describe swarming and methods for swarm control, control a swarm, and unite and divide beehives.
30792 Carry out honey harvesting.
25894 Extract honey.
30784 Describe and carry out wintering down of beehives.
19892 Describe beehive transport requirements, and transport and establish beehives on site.
ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥ who apply must be prepared to purchase the following directly from supplier. Details to be emailed to students once enrolled:
1 x Bee Suit & Gloves
1 x Hive tool
1 x Smoker
1 x Base
1 x FD Box
2 x 3/4D Box
10 x FD frames
20 x 3/4D Plastic Frame
11 x Wax Foundation
1kg Beeswax
1 x Feeder
1 x Hivemat
1 x Excluder
1 x Roof
1 x Guard inc screws
1 x Emlock
1 x Nails, Screws & Wire
Food for bees
Learners will need to buy a nucleaus beehive of bees when the tutor instructs this to happen.
Gear and equipment students must provide or have access to:
Access to a camera/phone to take photo evidence to demonstrate practical competency for assessment. Must be able to upload files to Blackboard along with personal identification
Access to plants and flowers (for plant collection assessment)
Sturdy footwear
Trailer or ute and tiedowns
Provide own transport at own cost to a venue where an AFB course this will be offered:
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),orTrinity 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 3
IELTS test - General or Academic score of 5 with no band score lower than 5
TOEFL Paper based test (pBT) - Score of 500 (with an essay score of 4 TWE)
TOEFL Internet based test (iBT) - Score of 35 (with a writing score of 14)
Cambridge English Examination - B2 First or B2 First for schools with a score of 154. 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 (General) or (Workplace) b) Level 3 (General)
Pearson Test of English (Academic) – PTE (Academic) score of 36 with no band score lower than 36
Language Cert – B1 Achiever International ESOL Written (LRW) PASS with no less than 25/50 in each skill and Spoken (S) PASS
Trinity ISE - ISE I with no less than distinction in any band
Additional Information
This course is delivered online. ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥ will need to have access to at least a dozen working hives (that have been wintered) and be able to take and upload video evidence for assessment purposes
We strongly recommend that you also connect with a local beekeeping club/group or buddy up with a local beekeeper.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you are taking the necessary steps and precautions to keep yourself safe while studying this programme.
Satisfactory Completion
ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥ must achieve a pass in each course and a total of 65 credits as noted in the programme of study to be awarded the New Zealand Certificate in Apiculture (Level 3).
Textbooks
The following three textbooks are NOT included in the Direct Material Cost:
ÐãÉ«Ö±²¥ will need to purchase these from the SIT bookshop or from the preferred beekeeping supplier – please get in touch with the Student Liaison by email for details.
Practical Beekeeping in New Zealand – Matheson & Reid
Elimination of American Foulbrood Disease without the use of Drugs – Goodwin
Control of Varroa – A guide for New Zealand Beekeepers – Goodwin & Taylor