Skeltons award recipient, Shane Flynn
Three EIT cadets have won Skeltons Excellence Awards – Shane Flynn and Epere (Eps) Epere for horticulture and Conrad Kirk for viticulture. Farmlands Trading Society Limited’s horticulture specialists, Skeltons presented its annual awards at a function held in Hastings in early December.
The company’s Hawke’s Bay field manager James Cropper said the calibre of the students signalled a bright future for the region’s horticulture and viticulture industries.
“EIT tutors and (the cadets’) individual managers are full of praise for the commitment and enthusiasm they have shown to furthering their skills by studying while at the same time excelling in their full-time hands-on roles.
Employed by Chadwick Trust, a Farndon Road orchard that is part of the Crasborn Group, Shane – who completed a three-year cadetship in two years – “most definitely shines”, said Crasborn’s operation manager, Lee Arlidge.
“He started out in the packhouse but we could see potential and that we needed to keep things interesting for him so suggested he move into a position and study (so) that he had a career path.
“He’s already managing 50 hectares and staff. He’s absolutely committed to horticulture, which is fantastic.”
Since winning a Skeltons Excellence Award as a second-year student in 2010, Eps has been promoted to an assistant manager’s position at Johnny Appleseed.
“He was selected for the position over both internal and external applicants and webelieve that he will go further as he’s keen to take on more specialised courses of study,” said Tom Place, the manager Eps has worked under casually and then full-time for the past 17 years.
The inaugural recipient of Skeltons Excellence Award for viticulture, Conrad completed year-two EIT papers while working at Morton Estate Vineyards’ Tantallon Vineyard in the Bridge Pa Triangle.
His boss, Peter Scott, recalls being impressed by Conrad’s attitude when he applied for his job two years ago armed with life skills rather than industry experience.
“We saw that he had the ability for a solid career in viticulture and encouraged him to study so that he could progress within our company when the opportunities arose. He’s proving us right as he has quickly put his theory and practical learning together and will go far.”