MAST Academy
MAST Academy is New Zealand's specialist training provider for the marine and composites industries. If you want to build boats, work with advanced materials, or pursue a career on the water, this is where that training happens in New Zealand. Their programmes are workplace-based, industry-connected, and built around the trades and technologies that put Kiwi craftsmanship on the world map.
Built by industry, for industry
MAST Academy did not start as a training organisation that happened to find a niche. It was created by the marine industry itself, back when boatbuilders recognised that generic trade training was not cutting it for a sector doing genuinely specialised work. That origin still shapes everything about how they operate.
Today, MAST Academy sits at the centre of New Zealand's marine and composites sector, delivering training that moves between the workshop and the workplace. You will not spend your time in a generic classroom doing theory that feels disconnected from the job. The learning happens in real environments, alongside people who are active in the industry, building skills that employers in this sector actually need.
New Zealand has a well-earned international reputation in marine and composites, from America's Cup victories to superyachts and aerospace-grade composite components. MAST Academy is where the next generation of people behind that work gets trained.
What makes them different
⚓ The only specialist provider of its kind in New Zealand
There is no equivalent to MAST Academy in this country. If you want recognised, industry-specific training in marine trades or composites, this is where it happens. That specialisation means the courses are not adapted from something generic. They are built from the ground up for these industries.
🏭 Workplace-based training that reflects the real job
Training at MAST Academy is structured around the actual workplace. You develop skills on the job, with structured off-job learning woven in. That approach means you are building competence in real conditions, not just ticking boxes in a training environment.
🌊 Deep industry connections
MAST Academy was born out of industry and has maintained those ties ever since. Employers are actively involved in how training is designed and delivered, which means what you learn reflects what the sector genuinely needs. Those connections also matter when it comes to employment, because the people training you often know the people hiring.
🏆 Internationally recognised training
MAST Academy's predecessor organisation won the Best Apprenticeship or Training Scheme in Boatbuilding at the International Boat Industry Awards in Amsterdam. That kind of global recognition reflects the quality of what has been built here, and it is the foundation the current programmes are built on.