Training to become a Survey Technician can be completed through UNITEC or Infratrain.

UNITEC - Unitec Institute of Technology

 Department of Civil Engineering

Unitec’s National Diploma in Surveying (NDS) is a 2 year full time study programme (part time options are available).
 
The NDS is offered by Unitec Institute of Technology at their Mount Albert campus in Auckland.  The programme comprises 240 credits and is a Level 6 qualification.
 
The National Diploma in Surveying programme has been redeveloped to meet the needs of industry, and covers a wide ranging curriculum, similar to the Bachelor of Surveying degree, but with a stronger emphasis on hands-on experience through practical assignments.   Courses within the NDS programme include :

Land Surveying, Geodetic Surveying, Materials, Engineering Management, Technical Literacy, Civil and Structural Drawing, Engineering Surveying, Cadestral Surveying, Land Administration, Mathematics, Surveying Project 1 & 2

Graduates from the NDS programme have a wide choice of career opportunities. These include CAD technologist, Cadastral survey technician, Engineering surveyor, Digital terrain modeller, Geodetic control surveyor, Tunnelling and mining surveyor

NDS graduates primarily work for engineering infrastructure and construction companies and/or for consulting surveying and engineering practices.

NDS holders can become Associates of the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors (ANZIS).

For more information visit www.surveying.unitec.ac.nz

Infratrain ITO (Industry Training Organisation)

The National Diploma in Surveying (NDS) and the National Certificate in Surveying (NCS) are available nationwide as on job training qualifications through InfraTrain. 
 
National Diploma in Surveying (NDS)
The NDS is a Level 6 qualification requiring 252 –347 credits and could be achieved in 2-4 years depending on experience, opportunity and commitment.  The NDS course offers a broad education in surveying covering most of the subject areas of the BSurv degree but in less depth. Employment prospects in surveying practices throughout NZ and overseas are strong.  Staircasing on to the BSurv degree at Otago is available.

Many technician surveyors work on land boundary surveys under the supervision of a Licensed Cadastral Surveyors.

InfraTrain NDS graduates will train in consulting surveying and engineering practices but could end up working anywhere in the land development, engineering infrastructure and construction industries in New Zealand or around the world.

NDS holders can become Associates of the New Zealand Institute of Surveyors (ANZIS).
 
National Certificate in Surveying (NCS) 
The NCS is designed to train survey assistants and is a Level 3 qualification of 83 credits.
 
InfraTrain also supports the National Certificate in Surveying NCS (Hydrographic Surveying)  which is a Level 4 Qualification of 154 credits and is designed for surveying assistants working in a hydrographic context. 
 
On the job training 
 Candidates for these courses need to be employed by a surveying business and signed up with InfraTrain.  Their employer needs to sign up to a training agreement with them and appoint an in-house Verifier.  An InfraTrain Assessor will be required to Assess competence in the Unit Standards. 
 
With appropriate instruction and experience provided by  the employer the candidate is able to learn on the job and progress at their own pace through the Unit Standards that comprise the qualification. A work book is provided by InfraTrain to each candidate where the performance criteria have been converted into tasks.  

The Unit Standards of the NDS, NCS and NCHS are visible on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority National Qualifications Framework website.

For more information see the Infratrain website 
or contact: askus@InfraTrain.co.nz