Robert Humphries' long-term plan is to keep on learning about plants

Some people can’t wait to leave the classroom behind, but Robert Humphries sees himself studying for the next 10 to 20 years.

Robert’s passion for studying horticulture stems from growing up around his family’s nursery, amenity and landscape business in Southland. “I decided to go to Otago Polytechnic. I stumbled into kiwifruit and got hooked on it,” says Robert.

After graduating with a national certificate and national diploma in horticulture, he got a job in his chosen industry – kiwifruit.

He has since progressed rapidly through Seeka Kiwifruit Industries Limited – a Bay of Plenty company that packs and stores kiwifruit for local and overseas markets. In his twenties he was already in charge of 23 coolstores and hundreds of employees. He attributes this to enjoying a challenge and not being afraid of hard work.

“Anything that challenges me mentally or physically – if it can push me outside my comfort zone I am happy.

“I used to work 30 to 40 hours per week while going to school. Knowing what it takes to put in a bit of hard work at a job was an advantage.”

Not content to excel at his work, Robert is also continuing his education.

“I’m currently studying towards a Bachelor of Applied Science majoring in horticulture at Massey University. I’m doing a paper a year. It’s probably going to take me about 10 to 15 years to complete but one goal I had at school was to get a degree in horticulture. I didn’t get the results that I needed at school to go to university so I’ve made it a goal for the next 10 to 20 years to get the degree and maybe even Masters.

“I want to be at the top of my industry, whether that means running my own business or being on a board or even being a top manager in a company I work for.

“There’s a lot of potential in the horticulture industry in New Zealand. Having a part in that is the biggest thing to me.”

Robert's lifelong learning

• Qualified with a Diploma of Horticulture from Otago Polytechnic.
• Became a packhouse manager and was promoted to assistant site manager.
• Moved into a job specialising in inventory management, controlling the quality of fruit being exported.
• Is now studying part time for a Bachelor of Applied Science from Massey University, majoring in horticulture.
• Wants to aim for the top of his industry – ideas include running his own business.