Find your future flavour

More choice, more opportunity!
Imagine Tomorrow. Āta whakaarohia tō āpōpō.

Find your future flavour at Te Mātāpuna Fonterra – where your skills and ambitions can thrive. Every day, we’re shaping what’s next to create a better tomorrow for our land, our people, and the careers of those who join us. With hundreds of opportunities across diverse fields, imagine the possibilities your tomorrow could hold here.  

Your career starts here! Explore career pathways, hear from our people, and take the first step towards shaping your future with us. Whatever your interest or passion is, we have a range of different early career opportunities, including graduate programmes, internships and apprenticeships. Download our early careers pathway guide here.

Early Careers

Meet the grads, interns, apprentices and trainees finding their future flavour here at Te Mātāpuna Fonterra.

"It just makes me so happy that I work for a company that's so about their people."

Scarlett

Heavy Automotive Apprentice

Apprenticeship Careers 

As an apprentice you work for, get paid by, and learn from, an employer who supports you through your apprenticeship to gain a Level 4 New Zealand Certificate in your chosen apprenticeship area. For more information on Apprenticeship Careers, download our handout in English here and in te reo Māori here.

Gain a NZ Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Maintenance focus).

Work in a varied role across multiple aspects of maintenance engineering while qualifying and building towards a roles as a Fitter or Maintenance Technician.

Applications for 2026 are closed, please click here to register your interest for 2027.

What's in it for you?
What can you expect?
Who are we looking for?
Gain a NZ Certificate in Heavy Automotive Engineering (Diesel/Auto Electrical focus) and your Class 5 License.

Form part of the Fleet Services Workshop where we maintain and service dairy milk tankers across the season. 

Applications for 2026 are closed, please click here to register your interest for 2027.

What's in it for you?
What can you expect?
Who are we looking for?
Gain a NZ Certificate in Electrical Engineering (Industrial focus) and a full practicing license.

Work closely with our qualified Electricians taking an Industrial focus to build your electrical engineering capability to becoming a licensed NZ electrician.  

Applications for 2026 are closed, please click here to register your interest for 2027.

What's in it for you?
What can you expect?
Who are we looking for?

Trading up to an amazing future

Get inspired by watching our Apprentice stories.

Internship opportunities

Our Summer internship programme is designed to give you a hands-on experience of Fonterra.

Our summer internship includes opportunities in Supply Chain, Accounting & Finance, IT & Data, Technical Engineering and Sustainability.

Please note, we will not be taking applications for our business streams in 2025.

Applications are now open for our Engineering Internships – please click here to apply.

What's in it for you?
Who are we looking for?
Kickstart your Fonterra career with our R&D Summer Internship Programme. Use your university knowledge and gain first-hand experience with real R&D projects at our world class research centre in Palmerston North. 

Our Research & Development Internship runs for up to 14 weeks over the summer. You’ll take ownership of your project and get to work with industry leaders as you get to solve practical problems using your science related knowledge. 

We are looking for STEM students studying towards a bachelor's degree in engineering, chemical and process engineering, chemical and materials engineering, food engineering, chemistry, physics, food technology, food science, dairy science and health and nutrition.

Join us this summer and take the first step towards a rewarding career in dairy innovation.

R&D internships are currently closed and reopen in June 2026. Click here to register your interest.

What's in it for you?
What can you expect?
What is it like?
Who are we looking for?
Our Agribusiness Summer Internship is designed to give you hands-on experience of Farm Source.

The programme will see you connecting with our farmers in store, on farm and challenging your skills in project management. This programme offers unique exposure to the agribusiness sector across Aotearoa New Zealand.

Applications will reopen later this year, if you would like to register your interest please click here.

What's in it for you?
What can you expect?
What is it like?
Who are we looking for?

Graduate opportunities

Te Hōtaka Paerua o Fonterra, the Fonterra Graduate Technical Programme (FGTP) offers the opportunity to gain your Master of Dairy Science and Technology and has been successfully developing industry leaders for over 50 years. 

For STEM students, this 12-month programme is full of learning development and experiences that will take you around New Zealand.

Experiencing our Manufacturing sites at placement, learning from industry experts at winter course and applying this knowledge to a real value research project, this is the best transition from university to work, building a solid foundation for a successful career. For more information on the Fonterra Graduate Technical Programme (FGTP), download the handout in English here and in te reo Māori here.

Applications are now closed and will reopen early 2026.  Please click here to register your interest.

 

What’s in it for you?
What can you expect?
What is it like?
Who are we looking for?
Hōtaka Pūkenga Waihanga Paerua, The Fonterra Engineering Graduate Programme offers the opportunity to work alongside experts and develop your knowledge and skills. 

You will be able to move into a wide range of exciting positions, build your cultural capability, and gain exposure across our diverse company during your time in the programme. For more information about our Engineering Graduate Programme,  download the handout in English here and in te reo Māori here.

Applications are now closed and will reopen early 2026.  Please click here to register your interest.

Explore your engineering future with us! Discover how your career can grow with Fonterra. For more information, visit our Engineering Careers Page to see the vast array of opportunities and how everything is connected within our co-op.

What's in it for you?
Who are we looking for?
What is it like?
The Fonterra Farm Source Agribusiness Programme offers exposure to a broad, exciting range of opportunities across the agricultural sector. 

Our Agribusiness Programme provides access to placements right across Farm Source Aotearoa.  The programme will have you working alongside experts, contributing to projects that shape the future of sustainable farming, and building the skills needed to thrive in a dynamic environment.

With mentorship, professional development. You’ll meet with key stakeholders and work on activities that impact our business on a daily basis. This programme offers exposure to it all.

For more information about our Agribusiness Programme, download the handout in English here or in Te Reo Māori here.

Applications are currently closed and will reopen next year.  Please click here to register your interest.

What’s in it for you?
What can you expect?
What is it like?
Who are we looking for?

Finding their future flavour

Meet the early risers imagining their tomorrow here at Te Mātāpuna Fonterra.

Traineeship Careers 

At Fonterra a Traineeship is a series of connected qualifications & learning experiences designed to help those with existing experience and/or qualifications specialise into a certain area of the business.

You’ll learn how to proactively and efficiently operate our energy centre assets.  Our Energy Centre Trainee roles are hugely varied across water, steam, electricity and compressed air generation to keep our sites operational.

You’ll gain broad exposure to site utilities including boilers and water treatment plants, and get to learn about planning work, shut down maintenance, and assist with troubleshooting and breakdowns – there’s plenty of variety here!

Applications are currently closed, however, if you would like to register your interest please click here.

What's in it for you?
What can you expect?
Who are we looking for?

Want to become a Fonterra employee? Select a location and start looking for roles