Programme highlights
Get qualified to work as an engineering technician – an area critical to the economy in New Zealand and overseas.
You’ll learn broad skills in electrical engineering and develop specialist knowledge in power.
This qualification meets New Zealand and international benchmarks for engineering technicians.
Graduates can work at a technician level as outlined by the Dublin Accord (International Engineering Alliance, 2002).
Entry requirements
Applicants must meet the following entry requirements:
Academic
NCEA Level 2
- Including a minimum of 10 literacy credits at Level 1 or above (for those who achieved NCEA Level 2 before 2013);
And
- A minimum total of 48 credits at level 2 in four subjects including at least 12 credits in mathematics (preferably achievement standards in algebra, calculus or trigonometry);
Or
- Equivalent qualifications (e.g. International Baccalaureate or Cambridge);
Or
- Equivalent credits from appropriate trades training and/or demonstrated skills and experience.
English language entry requirements
In addition to meeting the minimum entry criteria, those applicants for whom English is a second language (including International students) must meet the IELTS overall language requirement: Overall Band Score (Academic) of 6.0 IELTS, with no individual score less than 5.5, or equivalent.
Other entry requirements
Applicants must be physically capable of completing the practical aspects of the programme, by being able to work effectively, efficiently and safely.
Applicants who do not meet the entry requirements will be counselled to an appropriate Foundation programme.
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 nine compulsory courses and seven additional courses related to your specialisation (240 credits):
Compulsory courses:
NZDE compulsory
Electrical strand
Courses related to the power specialisation:
Power
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
Successful completion of your first semester in the New Zealand Diploma of Engineering (Level 6) with a required grade point average of B can provide direct entry to Bachelor of Engineering Technology (Level 7).
Career opportunities
Electrical engineering technicians interpret the designs and technical instructions of electrical engineers, then ensure they are accurately carried out. They also develop, install, test and maintain equipment that produces, transmits or uses power. Electrical engineering technicians work for companies that install, service and maintain electrical networks. These include electrical maintenance and contracting companies, power-generation companies, engineering firms and the Defence Force. For potential salaries visit careers.govt.nz
See why more people choose Electrical engineering at MIT
Study at MIT’s award-winning TechPark campus.
MIT TechPark is an award-winning centre of excellence for engineering and trades.
Having won a Learning Environments Australasia Award which recognises planning, design and construction of educational facilities throughout the region, our state-of-the-art campus is the home of our engineering and trades school. Coupling stunning architectural learning spaces with a myriad of high-tech facilities for our students, it’s easy to see why it’s been given such high praises.
Our TechPark building is situated on the corner of Lambie Drive and Manukau Station Road. It is across the road from the existing MIT Manukau campus, currently home to the schools of nursing, health and counselling, business, and digital technologies.
“The choice to study engineering definitely secures your future.”
“Looking back on my experience at MIT, I really enjoyed the learning style. I did the lectures online and only had to come into class for one week a semester to do the practical parts. Overall, the atmosphere and the way that classes were taught was really enjoyable, and not too restrictive either. It just feels comfortable.
The choice to study engineering at MIT definitely secures your future. It narrows down on the things employers are looking for, like answers to practical questions that you might face on the job. Those are the things that show you are competent to employers.
My five-year plan is to become a senior engineer. It is a lifelong learning process, even now that I have the job, there is still a lot to learn. It is a continuous process. You have to keep going to gain more knowledge.
Having a qualification is really important if you want to land that dream job.”
Oscar Lee
MIT graduate
“The lecturers will do their utmost to help you succeed.”
“My advice, just do it. The lecturers will do their utmost to help you succeed.
I’m just a kid from South Auckland who has always been portrayed as the guy with no future from everyone around me. I was even asked to drop out of high school as my teachers saw no academic hope in me but at the end of the day as long as you truly believe in yourself you can literally accomplish anything in this world. So, I highly recommend anyone who thinks they’re ‘too dumb’ to be an engineer to just go for it, cancel out the noise and put in the work, put in hours and I promise you, your success will speak for itself.
I’m now a Graduate Design Estimator responsible for electrical distribution design, estimating, tendering, and pricing for customer-initiated projects. My role involves developing electrical design and liaising with multiple internal and external stakeholders to ensure the design are feasible. The typical projects I am regularly involved with include supplying power at proposed new subdivisions, distribution network upgrades, downgrades and new capacity projects on Vectors Electrical Distribution network in Auckland.
I attended high school through to the end of year 12. At the start of year 13, I decided to leave school to study the Electrical Engineering Certificate (Level 3) at MIT. This helped me into the electrical industry which ultimately helped me secure an Electrical Engineering cadetship with Northpower – where I gained practical experience out on the field whilst completing my electrical engineering diploma, specialising in power. MIT was a great experience for me – both in the diploma I completed through the Northpower cadetship, as well as my certificate in electrical engineering.
The diverse culture makes MIT unique. No matter where you are from MIT makes you feel a part of the family. The lecturers go above and beyond to help you succeed. The knowledge they possess, and the industry experience is next to none. Carrying this real-life industry experience meant there was not a single query my lecturers did not have a solution for. With their help, relating the practical and theoretical side of the electrical industry was a lot easier than I initially expected. The practical assessments are almost like a real-life simulation of what’s really out there, and the lecturers are always available to give you extra help when you need it outside of tuition hours, which was really the bread and butter for me. They really want to see their students succeed and go out of their way to help make that happen. Performing university level maths and physics almost seemed impossible as I had no prior high school/calculus experience but MIT made the whole learning experience achievable with the tremendous amount of support I felt from them.
The MIT qualification gave me the much-needed knowledge and experience to get myself in the door and start my journey as an upcoming engineer. Relating the practical side with the theoretical was a breeze with the support I received from MIT. I still use my skills and knowledge from MIT on a daily basis to perform my daily work tasks. These aren’t just skills I’ve learnt to get a qualification but in fact skills I will use throughout my whole career.
I really want to set an example and inspire the upcoming generation and really show them that anything is possible. My ultimate goal is to be an experienced leader in the industry and head into more complex roles such as project management.
The electrical industry is a never-ending profession and the career progressions available to you are endless. The challenges you will face throughout your career will only help you grow as a person.”
Ashnil Datt
MIT graduate
“The future is looking really exciting.”
“My decision to study engineering has given me job security.”
“I chose to study engineering because I am fascinated by electricity. When I see large factories, I wonder how some of their processes are automated, I wanted to learn and have the knowledge to do that. So for me, MIT was the best fit. I learnt the practical skills needed to get a job when I graduated.
My decision to study engineering has given me job security, I am an automation control specialist and the skills that I learned at MIT directly transferred to my role.”
Shiraaz Yakub
MIT graduate
“We need more females in the industry.”
“I’m the first Māori female in my family to actually be doing engineering. I never thought of doing electricity when I was growing up, no one in my family is in the industry until now, so I’m sort of like the first of my family. My Mum is very proud when she sees me in my gear. She always comments to my sisters and my family “oh, she has such an awesome job”. I just love seeing how happy they are for me.
We gain so much knowledge while we’re on our course studying. We have a small class so we’re able to bounce off each other. I also love that in a small class I’m able to talk to my teacher one-on-one.
My long-term career goal is obviously to become an engineer. I reckon that’s an awesome opportunity.”
You can read Alyssa’s full story below:
Alyssa Paki
MIT graduate
Study at MIT’s award-winning TechPark campus.
MIT TechPark is an award-winning centre of excellence for engineering and trades.
Having won a Learning Environments Australasia Award which recognises planning, design and construction of educational facilities throughout the region, our state-of-the-art campus is the home of our engineering and trades school. Coupling stunning architectural learning spaces with a myriad of high-tech facilities for our students, it’s easy to see why it’s been given such high praises.
Our TechPark building is situated on the corner of Lambie Drive and Manukau Station Road. It is across the road from the existing MIT Manukau campus, currently home to the schools of nursing, health and counselling, business, and digital technologies.
“The choice to study engineering definitely secures your future.”
“Looking back on my experience at MIT, I really enjoyed the learning style. I did the lectures online and only had to come into class for one week a semester to do the practical parts. Overall, the atmosphere and the way that classes were taught was really enjoyable, and not too restrictive either. It just feels comfortable.
The choice to study engineering at MIT definitely secures your future. It narrows down on the things employers are looking for, like answers to practical questions that you might face on the job. Those are the things that show you are competent to employers.
My five-year plan is to become a senior engineer. It is a lifelong learning process, even now that I have the job, there is still a lot to learn. It is a continuous process. You have to keep going to gain more knowledge.
Having a qualification is really important if you want to land that dream job.”
Oscar Lee
MIT graduate
“The lecturers will do their utmost to help you succeed.”
“My advice, just do it. The lecturers will do their utmost to help you succeed.
I’m just a kid from South Auckland who has always been portrayed as the guy with no future from everyone around me. I was even asked to drop out of high school as my teachers saw no academic hope in me but at the end of the day as long as you truly believe in yourself you can literally accomplish anything in this world. So, I highly recommend anyone who thinks they’re ‘too dumb’ to be an engineer to just go for it, cancel out the noise and put in the work, put in hours and I promise you, your success will speak for itself.
I’m now a Graduate Design Estimator responsible for electrical distribution design, estimating, tendering, and pricing for customer-initiated projects. My role involves developing electrical design and liaising with multiple internal and external stakeholders to ensure the design are feasible. The typical projects I am regularly involved with include supplying power at proposed new subdivisions, distribution network upgrades, downgrades and new capacity projects on Vectors Electrical Distribution network in Auckland.
I attended high school through to the end of year 12. At the start of year 13, I decided to leave school to study the Electrical Engineering Certificate (Level 3) at MIT. This helped me into the electrical industry which ultimately helped me secure an Electrical Engineering cadetship with Northpower – where I gained practical experience out on the field whilst completing my electrical engineering diploma, specialising in power. MIT was a great experience for me – both in the diploma I completed through the Northpower cadetship, as well as my certificate in electrical engineering.
The diverse culture makes MIT unique. No matter where you are from MIT makes you feel a part of the family. The lecturers go above and beyond to help you succeed. The knowledge they possess, and the industry experience is next to none. Carrying this real-life industry experience meant there was not a single query my lecturers did not have a solution for. With their help, relating the practical and theoretical side of the electrical industry was a lot easier than I initially expected. The practical assessments are almost like a real-life simulation of what’s really out there, and the lecturers are always available to give you extra help when you need it outside of tuition hours, which was really the bread and butter for me. They really want to see their students succeed and go out of their way to help make that happen. Performing university level maths and physics almost seemed impossible as I had no prior high school/calculus experience but MIT made the whole learning experience achievable with the tremendous amount of support I felt from them.
The MIT qualification gave me the much-needed knowledge and experience to get myself in the door and start my journey as an upcoming engineer. Relating the practical side with the theoretical was a breeze with the support I received from MIT. I still use my skills and knowledge from MIT on a daily basis to perform my daily work tasks. These aren’t just skills I’ve learnt to get a qualification but in fact skills I will use throughout my whole career.
I really want to set an example and inspire the upcoming generation and really show them that anything is possible. My ultimate goal is to be an experienced leader in the industry and head into more complex roles such as project management.
The electrical industry is a never-ending profession and the career progressions available to you are endless. The challenges you will face throughout your career will only help you grow as a person.”
Ashnil Datt
MIT graduate
“The future is looking really exciting.”
“My decision to study engineering has given me job security.”
“I chose to study engineering because I am fascinated by electricity. When I see large factories, I wonder how some of their processes are automated, I wanted to learn and have the knowledge to do that. So for me, MIT was the best fit. I learnt the practical skills needed to get a job when I graduated.
My decision to study engineering has given me job security, I am an automation control specialist and the skills that I learned at MIT directly transferred to my role.”
Shiraaz Yakub
MIT graduate
“We need more females in the industry.”
“I’m the first Māori female in my family to actually be doing engineering. I never thought of doing electricity when I was growing up, no one in my family is in the industry until now, so I’m sort of like the first of my family. My Mum is very proud when she sees me in my gear. She always comments to my sisters and my family “oh, she has such an awesome job”. I just love seeing how happy they are for me.
We gain so much knowledge while we’re on our course studying. We have a small class so we’re able to bounce off each other. I also love that in a small class I’m able to talk to my teacher one-on-one.
My long-term career goal is obviously to become an engineer. I reckon that’s an awesome opportunity.”
You can read Alyssa’s full story below:
Alyssa Paki
MIT graduate
