New skydiving diploma world first for NZ
09 Oct 2008
New Zealand has made another leap into the record books by becoming the first country in the world to create a new skydiving qualification for tandem jumps.
As a world leader in the international skydiving industry, New Zealand sees more than 75,000 jumps each year. Now it will also lead the world in advanced sky diving training.
New Zealand training
The New Zealand Skydiving School at Methven, near Christchurch in the South Island, has introduced the new qualification, a Diploma in Advanced Skydiving that's designed to train skydivers to take tandem passengers.
The school's chief executive Kirsty Smith says adventure tourism and tandem diving, in particular, have grown significantly in popularity over the past few years which has resulted in a skills shortage in qualified staff within the industry.
Diploma popular with overseas students
The New Zealand Skydiving School was established seven years ago and half of the students attending are from overseas. The majority complete a Diploma in Commercial Skydiving before taking on advanced qualifications, and the new diploma course will provide an increased level of skydiving skills including tandem and jumpmaster ratings.
Spain, the United States, Canada and Australia all participate in work placements as part of the Diploma in Commercial Skydiving, and the New Zealand school says it receives calls from all around the world looking for students to work at overseas dropzones.
The advanced diploma course, which has been approved by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, has already attracted international attention.
Skydiver demand
"There is a huge demand for qualified skydivers overseas and here in New Zealand," says Kirsty Smith. Nearly all (96%) of the New Zealand Skydiving School graduates found work within the industry after completing their qualifications.
Kirsty and husband Steve's Queenstown and Rotorua dropzones won New Zealand Tourism's supreme award last year, and a Wanaka-based dropzone took out the small business award this year.
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