For Shipping Gazette
August 19, 2002

New Zealand Maritime School Strengthens its German Connections

A group of 16 students from the Elsfleth and Leer Maritime Colleges in Germany have arrived at the New Zealand Maritime School in Auckland to study for 15 weeks.

The group is the latest in a series of foreign enrolments at the school, taking the number of overseas students studying at the school to 470. The total foreign students in some courses is almost double that of last year.

Director Tim Wilson says the success of the school as an international training provider follows on from the significant investment it has made in securing the right staff and in developing sophisticated courses.

"We've also been out there marketing ourselves to the world. That is now really starting to pay off with increasing numbers of foreign students, particularly those coming from Europe. They are choosing us for the quality of our training and the opportunity that we provide for them to work and study in a different environment."

This is the sixth consecutive year the Maritime School in downtown Auckland has succeeded in attracting European students wishing to further their studies in New Zealand.

The German group is studying a mixture of shipping and freight and seagoing courses at the school, with several planning to stay on in New Zealand for work experience after they have completed their courses.

For further information:
Captain Tim Wilson: Telephone: 09 379 4997