Otago Polytechnic has pivoted to a workplace-based model to keep cookery training alive in Central Otago, securing a high school facility to replace the commercial kitchens set to be lost in its campus sell-off.

The institution announced it would deliver its Level 4 Cookery programme through a new Work Integrated Learning (WIL) model starting in February.

The move serves as a workaround for the polytechnic’s recent decision to sell its Cromwell town campus on Molyneux Avenue, which housed its training kitchens, citing financial viability.

Otago Polytechnic deputy executive director of operations Max Sims said the new pathway was designed to support learners already working within the hospitality industry.

"The flexible one-year, fulltime programme allows learners to remain in paid employment and is ideal for emerging chefs who want to formalise their skills and kitchen staff looking to step into more skilled positions," Max said.

"It also suits employers wanting to develop committed, motivated team members without removing them from the workplace."

To bridge the gap left by the lack of campus facilities, trainees, who must be employed for at least 20 hours a week, will attend specialist masterclasses in a professional kitchen at Dunstan High School. 

This will be combined with weekly one-on-one meetings with polytechnic staff.

"We’ve already had positive interest from across the local sector and have begun conversations with some of Central Otago’s largest hospitality employers," Max said.

In addition to the cookery qualification, the polytechnic is also pursuing approval to deliver a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy via a similar "Work Augmented Learning" pathway.

Max said the team had hosted a positive site accreditation visit from the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand and hoped to welcome the first local intake mid next year.

"Creating a pool of therapists who are already local and have trained in the context of their own community has the potential to better meet the growing demand on health resources being experienced

in the region," Max said.

The course announcements follow a turbulent period for the polytechnic in the region.

Earlier this year, the institution moved to discontinue courses in outdoor adventure education, stonemasonry, and brewing, as well as cookery, as part of a wider restructuring to ensure financial

sustainability.

Read more: Community trust eyes former polytechnic site for local use and Programmes may be discontinued at Central Campus