Chef apprenticeships in New Zealand
Pūkenga tao kai
Chefs oversee the preparation and cooking of food, and manage menu planning, supplies and kitchen staff.
The facts
- How long it takes
- 0–1 year
- Pay when starting out
- $24 an hour
- Most common pay
- $25–$37 an hour
- Experienced
- $45 an hour
- School qualifications
- NCEA Level 2 may be useful, but is not specifically required.
- Registration
- Not required for this trade.
Those pay ranges are for the job, not for an apprentice. While you are training your legal floor is the training minimum wage of $19.16 an hour if you are 20 or over and your agreement requires at least 60 credits a year of industry training; otherwise it is the adult minimum of $23.95. Plenty of employers pay well above either. How apprentice pay works →
What you need to start
- Experience in similar work is what employers look for first.
- The New Zealand Certificate in Cookery (Level 3) or (Level 4) is optional but common.
In every trade the order is the same: you find the employer first, then the training is arranged around the job. How to get an apprenticeship →
Employers listed in chef work (4)
New Zealand businesses in this trade that take on apprentices. Name, trade and region only — this site holds no reviews or ratings.
Pay, duration and entry requirements quoted from Tahatū Career Navigator — Chef, read 2026-09-18. Wage floors from Employment New Zealand, checked 2026-09-18.