Last week PANZ officially announced that it will assume responsibility for the Whitireia Publishing Course – New Zealand’s only full-time, industry-led publishing qualification – from 2026 and will welcome a capped intake of 20 students for next year.

You can read the full press release here.

PANZ is now reaching out to all members and partners to let you know how you can help to increase awareness of the course and enrolments for 2026. As mentioned previously, PANZ requires a minimum of 15 confirmed enrolments (and 20 max) to proceed.

Whitireia will still be managing enrolments for 2026. We are waiting for their website to re-open the programme for enrolments. In the meantime, however, they are receiving expressions of interest, meaning that the tutors can begin the process of interviewing potential ākonga and informing them of the conditions to the course going ahead. We want to encourage as many expressions of interest as possible over the next few weeks.

As time is quickly running out before the end of the year, here’s how you can help now….

Please promote the course by sharing these social media assets and relevant messaging through your networks – Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, newsletters, etc – over the next few weeks.

• The Whitireia Publishing Course is New Zealand’s only full-time, industry-led qualification in Publishing. Running for over 30 years, it has produced graduates who work across trade, educational, legal, and government publishing, as well as communications and media.
• More information here.
• Places for 2026 are capped at 20, in order to strengthen the experience of ākonga, so register your interest soon.
• The Publishers Association of New Zealand / Te Rau o Tākupu (PANZ) has formed a partnership with Whitireia/WelTec to ensure the continuation of the Graduate Diploma in Publishing (Applied) and related Microcredentials for 2026, and to help prepare students for a rapidly evolving industry.
• Students work directly with publishers, editors, designers, booksellers, and authors to bring real books to life.
• The course offers two work placements for each student in real publishing environments, and three internships per year.
• Two scholarships are available (Mason Publishing Scholarship and Penguin Random House Māori and Pacific Publishing Scholarship).
• The course has strong employment outcomes – graduates are in demand across the sector and their skills make a significant impact. On average, over recent years at least 75% of graduates in publishing or publishing-adjacent work within 6 months of graduation.
• Enrolments are managed through Whitireia’s website. Students can submit enquiries now and apply once the enrolments page reopens.