Programme highlights
Get the skills and knowledge to become a marine engineer.
This programme is ideal if you are newly employed in the maritime industry, or you are engine room crew wishing to progress to a marine engineer role.
It will prepare you for work on ships operating in New Zealand and foreign waters. You will also get skills in how to work safely onboard and what to do in an emergency.
You will learn the skills and knowledge required to operate and maintain engine room and auxiliary equipment to entry-level Marine Engineer Class 6 (MEC 6) standards under the Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) Seafarer Certification and Operational Limits Framework.
Graduates will generally operate under broad supervision from the chief engineer and the vessel master. You may find yourself working on a range of commercial coastal vessels including fishing trawlers, tug boats, ferries or charter boats.
This qualification leads to a Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) certificate. Expand for more detail.
You need to complete this qualification and your Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) approved Training Record Book (TRB), before applying to MNZ for a:
Award of the MNZ MEC 6 or MEC 5 certificates of competency will also require the completion of:
- Sea service
- MNZ medical fitness certificate
- Eyesight test (including for colour vision)
- Fit and proper person check
- Final exam
- Ancillary certificates.
See maritimenz.govt.nz for all requirements needed before you apply.
Entry requirements
General
To be admitted to this programme, applicants must hold one of the following:
- 48 credits at NCEA Level 2
OR
- [2506] New Zealand Certificate in Maritime Crewing (Level 3) or
- [2511] New Zealand Certificate in Maritime Crewing (Level 4)
- [2895] New Zealand Certificate in Domestic Maritime Crewing (Level 3)
OR
- a relevant qualification at NZQF Level 3 or above
OR
- a recognised equivalent.
English language entry requirements
All applicants (international and domestic) for whom English or te reo Māori is not a first language need to provide evidence that they have the necessary English language proficiency required for the programme.
International applicants are required to have an IELTS (Academic) score of 5.5 with no individual band lower than 5 from a single test taken in the preceding two years, or an equivalent described in NZQA Rules.
Additional requirements
- It is recommended that ākonga be employed or engaged in the Maritime industry
- Ākonga must provide a Medical Certificate issued by a General Practitioner or provide a Seafarers Medical Certificate or equivalent
- Ākonga must be physically fit and capable of participating in the practical training component.
Important information – Maritime New Zealand
- Upon successful completion of the programme ākonga may seek Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) licenses that require all applicant to meet sea time, eyesight, and medical requirements.
- Applicants for the Maritime Engineering Class (MEC 6) MNZ certificate must be at least 18 years old.
- Applicants should refer to www.maritimenz.govt.nz website for details of these requirements.
All persons wishing to qualify for a seafarer licence must also check the Maritime New Zealand prior certification and minimum service requirements for that licence. Also: Seafarers Framework which outlines medical fitness requirements https://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/rules/part-34/default.asp and Maritime New Zealand Part 34:Medical Standards https://www.maritimenz.govt.nz/rules/part-34/Part34-maritime-rule.pdf.
Special & discretionary admission
Any ākonga who is 20 years of age or older and has not reached the general admission requirements for their intended programme is eligible for Special Admission. Te Pūkenga works with the ākonga to ensure they are prepared for their intended programme. Any ākonga who is not yet 20 years of age and has not reached the general admission requirements for their intended programme may be eligible for Discretionary Admission. In assessing whether to grant Discretionary Admission, the delegated authority focuses on the applicant’s level of preparedness for their intended programme.
Give yourself credit with Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Did you know you can use the knowledge and experience you already have to your advantage?
Your previous work experience and on-the-job skills, volunteering, professional development, and other providers’ qualifications can be recognised as prior learning, matched against credits in our courses, and put towards your qualification – potentially saving you money and possibly helping you to complete your qualification faster Learn more.
Programme structure
You will need to complete the four courses below (45 credits):
Core compulsory courses
Level 3
Level 4
Do you want to study a single course, without enrolling into the full programme?
Courses within some of our programmes may be offered as an individual Certificate of Proficiency (COP). Programme entry requirements and course fees apply. For more information, please speak to our friendly Ask Me! team.
Further training or study
This qualification leads to the New Zealand Certificate in Marine Engineering Class 5 (Level 5).
Graduates can also progress to higher-level marine engineering qualifications leading to Marine Engineer Class 1 (MEC 1) under the Maritime NZ Seafarer Certification and Operational Limits Framework.
Career opportunities
Marine engineer (Class 6).
For potential salaries visit careers.govt.nz.
See why more people choose Domestic maritime at MIT
We are the quality choice. Study maritime and graduate work-ready.
“A lot of the practical learning is done in the simulator.”
“I’ve always been interested in fishing and diving and doing a bit of sailing when I was growing up. I thought it would be a cool way to extend that hobby into a career. All the instructors are A grade. Top of the line.
A lot of the practical learning is done in the simulator. There’s fairly realistic situations the lecturers can put you into. They can turn up the sea, they can reduce the visibility. They can put you in quite a hectic situation which really makes you think on your feet. Much like the real world could be.
My ideal job would be working on a boat, going cool places, preferably warm, and being able to see some pretty cool places around the country and around the world eventually.
Studying at NZMS is definitely worth it. It’s a good way to progress and it can lead to some pretty cool opportunities in the marine industry.”
Jack Abbott
NZMS student
“There’s quite a lot of work out there if you’re able to get experience.”
“I’ve spent most of my life growing up, on and around water. My old man worked in the fishing industry and is a skipper.
I was living on Stewart Island so for me I wasn’t able to come here for three months with work, so the distance learning, doing it all online played a huge role in me actually being able to do this course.
Having a career at sea means you get to experience things you can’t experience because there are no roads. Seeing whales, seeing dolphins, penguins are not uncommon. Every year we’d see a few whales as we travel up the coast. You get to experience a lot of what NZ is meant to be like. Getting away from all these big cities. Experiencing the nature and peacefulness of it all.
Most of maritime is hands-on experience. You always learn under a particular skipper. So you learn their way of doing things. But by coming here you’re learning the standard of the industry. It gives you that theoretical knowledge of why you’re doing something.
There are 7 simulators with one that is practically a boat. So that’s great hands-on because you can operate in low visibility with targets. It’s the most realistic way of learning how to do a lot of these things without actually being on a boat.
There’s quite a lot of work out there if you’re able to get experience.”
Nic Marshall
NZMS student
“I’ve just learnt so much more from being here.”
“I’ve never been a student, I was a little bit on the fence about it but once I got here everything just worked out perfectly. I’ve just learnt so much more from being here.
There’s about 20 plus of us most of the time on the course. It is a good number. There’s also people from different backgrounds and other courses incorporated into the modules which is really good because you get people who have been in completely different circumstances. We have fishermen, we have sailors, and we have people doing their Skipper Coastal Offshore.
The thing I love about the course here at the NZMS is they do put a lot of theory into practice. We spent two weeks in the computer laboratory room learning the programmes, especially the electronic chart display and GPS, all of our navigational aids, and radar set up. Then we come into the bridge and put it all into practice which has been really helpful.
We also get put into emergency situations which obviously day to day in our jobs, you hope you don’t really come across. For example, a full search and rescue where each boat had a full search pattern and we had to follow that, follow the instructions, and search for a life raft with a person who we did ultimately find. Something like that is really helpful because in the real world if that does happen, we will have this hands-on training to refer back to.”
Kate Williamson
NZMS student
“I enjoy the hands-on approach. Building up confidence for real-life scenarios.”
“My old man has been in the merchant navy for most of his life and his father before him so it was a natural progression for me. I went into the fishing industry and haven’t looked back.
I enjoy the simulator the most at NZMS. The hands-on approach. Building up confidence for real-life scenarios. It’s hard being away from the family, but when you are home you’ve got a comfortable lifestyle and your family is able to see you. Get amongst it. It’s good fun. It’s definitely a good career path. It pays good.”
Sam Mitchell
NZMS student
“We’ve got a really wide variety of domestic maritime programmes.”
“We’ve got a really wide variety of domestic maritime programmes. We have a couple of programmes like the super yacht certificate that are really good for people entering the industry who don’t have any industry experience. The rest of our programmes are really geared towards people who are already in industry and are actually doing at-work learning and workplace learning. So they could be for people who are working for ferry companies, tug operators, coastal research vessels, all the way through to the inshore fishing fleet, offshore fleet and we do have programmes for super yacht, chief mate and master.
Everything that we are talking about in the theoretical aspect has a practical application on the vessel. So even though we talk about theory it’s actually put into practice. One of the things we’re talking about is in the simulator here. We can talk about theoretical collision, prevention regulations, all sorts of things like that, but it’s actually doing it in something like the simulator that makes the difference. So where it can be, it’s always reinforced in a practical sense.
One of the things about working on-board a vessel is that you do have a routine but your routine is punctuated by difference every day. So even though you have a solid routine that runs through your ship when you’re navigating from A to B, things change all the time. So it’s always quite exciting. You never quite know what’s happening or coming up. When you look out your window you’re in an amazing environment that changes all the time.”
Louise Deehan-Owen
NZ Maritime School Senior Lecturer
We are the quality choice. Study maritime and graduate work-ready.
“A lot of the practical learning is done in the simulator.”
“I’ve always been interested in fishing and diving and doing a bit of sailing when I was growing up. I thought it would be a cool way to extend that hobby into a career. All the instructors are A grade. Top of the line.
A lot of the practical learning is done in the simulator. There’s fairly realistic situations the lecturers can put you into. They can turn up the sea, they can reduce the visibility. They can put you in quite a hectic situation which really makes you think on your feet. Much like the real world could be.
My ideal job would be working on a boat, going cool places, preferably warm, and being able to see some pretty cool places around the country and around the world eventually.
Studying at NZMS is definitely worth it. It’s a good way to progress and it can lead to some pretty cool opportunities in the marine industry.”
Jack Abbott
NZMS student
“There’s quite a lot of work out there if you’re able to get experience.”
“I’ve spent most of my life growing up, on and around water. My old man worked in the fishing industry and is a skipper.
I was living on Stewart Island so for me I wasn’t able to come here for three months with work, so the distance learning, doing it all online played a huge role in me actually being able to do this course.
Having a career at sea means you get to experience things you can’t experience because there are no roads. Seeing whales, seeing dolphins, penguins are not uncommon. Every year we’d see a few whales as we travel up the coast. You get to experience a lot of what NZ is meant to be like. Getting away from all these big cities. Experiencing the nature and peacefulness of it all.
Most of maritime is hands-on experience. You always learn under a particular skipper. So you learn their way of doing things. But by coming here you’re learning the standard of the industry. It gives you that theoretical knowledge of why you’re doing something.
There are 7 simulators with one that is practically a boat. So that’s great hands-on because you can operate in low visibility with targets. It’s the most realistic way of learning how to do a lot of these things without actually being on a boat.
There’s quite a lot of work out there if you’re able to get experience.”
Nic Marshall
NZMS student
“I’ve just learnt so much more from being here.”
“I’ve never been a student, I was a little bit on the fence about it but once I got here everything just worked out perfectly. I’ve just learnt so much more from being here.
There’s about 20 plus of us most of the time on the course. It is a good number. There’s also people from different backgrounds and other courses incorporated into the modules which is really good because you get people who have been in completely different circumstances. We have fishermen, we have sailors, and we have people doing their Skipper Coastal Offshore.
The thing I love about the course here at the NZMS is they do put a lot of theory into practice. We spent two weeks in the computer laboratory room learning the programmes, especially the electronic chart display and GPS, all of our navigational aids, and radar set up. Then we come into the bridge and put it all into practice which has been really helpful.
We also get put into emergency situations which obviously day to day in our jobs, you hope you don’t really come across. For example, a full search and rescue where each boat had a full search pattern and we had to follow that, follow the instructions, and search for a life raft with a person who we did ultimately find. Something like that is really helpful because in the real world if that does happen, we will have this hands-on training to refer back to.”
Kate Williamson
NZMS student
“I enjoy the hands-on approach. Building up confidence for real-life scenarios.”
“My old man has been in the merchant navy for most of his life and his father before him so it was a natural progression for me. I went into the fishing industry and haven’t looked back.
I enjoy the simulator the most at NZMS. The hands-on approach. Building up confidence for real-life scenarios. It’s hard being away from the family, but when you are home you’ve got a comfortable lifestyle and your family is able to see you. Get amongst it. It’s good fun. It’s definitely a good career path. It pays good.”
Sam Mitchell
NZMS student
“We’ve got a really wide variety of domestic maritime programmes.”
“We’ve got a really wide variety of domestic maritime programmes. We have a couple of programmes like the super yacht certificate that are really good for people entering the industry who don’t have any industry experience. The rest of our programmes are really geared towards people who are already in industry and are actually doing at-work learning and workplace learning. So they could be for people who are working for ferry companies, tug operators, coastal research vessels, all the way through to the inshore fishing fleet, offshore fleet and we do have programmes for super yacht, chief mate and master.
Everything that we are talking about in the theoretical aspect has a practical application on the vessel. So even though we talk about theory it’s actually put into practice. One of the things we’re talking about is in the simulator here. We can talk about theoretical collision, prevention regulations, all sorts of things like that, but it’s actually doing it in something like the simulator that makes the difference. So where it can be, it’s always reinforced in a practical sense.
One of the things about working on-board a vessel is that you do have a routine but your routine is punctuated by difference every day. So even though you have a solid routine that runs through your ship when you’re navigating from A to B, things change all the time. So it’s always quite exciting. You never quite know what’s happening or coming up. When you look out your window you’re in an amazing environment that changes all the time.”
Louise Deehan-Owen
NZ Maritime School Senior Lecturer
