Mō te tūranga

About the role

Specialisations

Apprenticeship trades | Engineering & Technical trades
Entry type

General entry
Under training

$68,860
Location

Trentham

As a Maintenance Fitter you will become a soldier within the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment (RNZALR), a Corps with a long and proud history of supporting and sustaining New Defence Force operations both at home and abroad.

To become a qualified Maintenance Fitter in the New Zealand Army, you will complete a fully funded apprenticeship in Mechanical Engineering, leading to a National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering Level 4 (General Engineering). This fully supported apprenticeship takes approximately three and a half years to complete and includes both on-the-job training and theoretical study, ensuring you gain a solid foundation in all aspects of the trade. For those who demonstrate the right aptitude, motivation, and leadership potential, further advanced training opportunities are available. These may include specialist qualifications, instructional roles, or progression into technical and supervisory positions within the New Zealand Army.

As part of a Maintenance Support Element you will provide essential maintenance support to New Zealand Army units and their land equipment. This includes a wide range of technical tasks such as computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing of bespoke components, operating manual engineering machines like lathes and millings machines, applying various welding processes and diagnosing hydraulic faults-all with the goal of maximising equipment availability and ensuring operational readiness.

Requirements

Basics

Must be 18 years old by the time you graduate from recruit course.
Eligible to meet national security clearance criteria, as stipulated by the Government's Protective Security Requirements.

Education

3 years secondary school.

^{Note, qualifications may be used to assess trade suitability.}

Fitness & Medical

Citizenship

There are strict citizenship and security requirements to gain the required CV security clearance for this trade.
Find out if you’re eligible here.

Period of Service

Your training is some of the most thorough and advanced in the world. On graduation, you will be required to serve 2 years in the Army. This helps the NZDF make the most of the skills and knowledge you’ve built during your training.

We offer guidance on entry requirements in our eligibility section. Apply if you're uncertain, as we’ll work through the criteria with you to determine if you can proceed.

Maintenance Fitters service and repair a wide variety of our mechanical and electrical equipment. Throughout your career, you'll get to specialise in lots of different types. For example, Ben looks af

Job on base

As a Maintenance Fitter within the New Zealand Army, your expertise will be vital in a wide range of tasks. In addition to performing all types of repairs on the equipment you’ve been trained to maintain, you will be actively involved in solving engineering problems on a daily basis. Your role will require creative and technical thinking to develop solutions that ensure operational effectiveness and readiness.
Job on deployment

Maintenance Fitters are deployed both within New Zealand and overseas whenever the New Zealand Government calls upon them. Over the past 30 years, they have played a vital role in numerous operations, deploying to Bosnia, Bougainville, East Timor/Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Solomon Islands as part of the New Zealand Defence Force’s response to international crises.

Closer to home, Maintenance Fitters are integral to the success of Humanitarian and Disaster Relief operations, where their adaptability and technical expertise have proven invaluable. In situations where equipment reliability is critical to mission success, their contributions have made a significant difference.

Whether in austere environments like the Christchurch and Kaikōura earthquakes, Cyclone Gabrielle recovery efforts, or responding to severe weather events across the South West Pacific, Maintenance Fitters consistently deliver under pressure. Their mechanical engineering skills are unmatched, even in the most challenging locations — from Antarctica to disaster zones, their expertise remains a cornerstone of operational success.

Career progression and training

01Basic Training

Basic Training

Upon successful enlistment into the Army you will be posted to Waiouru Army base. Here you will do 16 weeks of basic military training to find out if you have what it takes to be in the Army, and learn various subjects including:

Organisation and Administration
Army Customs and Protocol
Drill and Parades
Military Field Skills and Weapon Training
First Aid
Physical Fitness

02Job Training

Job Training

RNZALR Basic (Te Whaea’s words): Conducted in two modules, Module One being a 1-day online course, and Module Two, a two week residential course held in either Linton or Burnham, where you will be introduced to basic RNZALR skills.

Mod 1: Introduces you to NZDF Health and Safety Policy covering Height Safety, Driver Fatigue Management and Equipment Care.

Mod 2: Covers introduction and qualification of non-trade specific tasks in an Operational Combat Service Support environment. This includes:

o Understand Combat Service Support to enable combat forces to sustain operations and achieve their mission,

o Operate In Service Radio Equipment; and

o Operation of the Machine Gun 7.62mm MAG 58 and the Pistol Glock 17.

Basic Maintenance Fitter Course: This marks the beginning of your journey as a Maintenance Fitter, where you will commence your General Engineering Apprenticeship. The first stage is a nine-month foundation course designed to equip you with the essential engineering knowledge and hands-on skills needed for the trade. During this initial phase, you will gain practical experience across a range of core subjects, including:

o Introduction to hand tools

o Basic mechanical fitting

o Gas, Arc, and MIG welding

o Metal machining

o Computer Aided Design

In addition to the practical components, you will also complete mechanical engineering unit standards through online learning, building the theoretical foundation that supports your development as a qualified Maintenance Fitter. This course is conducted at a New Zealand Technical Institution.

03Ongoing Training

Ongoing Training

Junior Maintenance Fitter Course: The six-month Junior Maintenance Fitter Course builds upon the foundational skills developed in the Basic Maintenance Fitter Course. During this course, you will advance your capabilities by learning more sophisticated welding techniques and tackling complex machining projects, as well as being introduced to field repairs and mechanical fitting tasks. In addition to the practical training, you'll complete various online mechanical engineering unit standards, expanding your trade knowledge and preparing you for more technical and specialised responsibilities.

Intermediate Maintenance Fitter Course: The four-month Intermediate Maintenance Fitter Course follows on from the Junior Maintenance Fitter Course. Both courses are conducted at the New Zealand Army’s Trade Training School in Trentham, Wellington.

This course introduces apprentices to a broad range of New Zealand Army support equipment that they will be responsible for maintaining and repairing, both during deployments and in garrison environments. You will work with essential equipment such as operational hygiene facilities, field kitchens, hydraulic systems, and water pumps, while also completing the remaining online mechanical engineering unit standards.

Additionally, apprentices will be exposed to military maintenance repair documentation, gaining the knowledge and skills needed to operate effectively prior to being posted to an operational military workshop unit.

04Specialist Training

Specialist Training

Senior Specialist Equipment Maintenance Fitter Course: In the final year of your apprenticeship, you will attend the Senior Specialist Equipment Maintenance Fitter Course. This eight-week course exposes apprentices to more complex and technical hydraulic systems, teaching you how to operate and maintain them efficiently and effectively. The second part of the course focuses on field fuel dispensing equipment, including mobile dispensing fuel tankers used to replenish units in forward locations on the battlefield, as well as deployable bulk fuel installations designed to store large quantities of fuel for refuelling mobile tankers and other military vehicles.

Senior Welding Maintenance Fitter Course: The final eight-week trade training course of your apprenticeship is the Senior Welding Maintenance Fitter Course. This course builds upon all previous welding experience, preparing apprentices for welding certification upon qualification as a tradesperson. Throughout the course, you will become proficient in:

• Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMAW) – 12 mm mild steel

• Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) – 12 mm mild steel

• GMAW – 7000 series aluminium alloy

• GMAW – ballistic steel

Both senior courses are conducted at the New Zealand Army’s Trade Training School in Trentham, Wellington.

Congratulations

Upon completion of the Basic, Junior, Intermediate, and both Senior Maintenance Fitter courses, as well as the required online packages, you will be officially qualified as a Maintenance Fitter within the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment. Your career is now ready to take off, with opportunities for further engineering trade advancement, leadership training, and operational deployments.

05Career Progression

Career Progression

As your career progresses, you will learn about a wider range of equipment from qualified instructors both at the Army’s Trade Training School and at your place of work. You will attend professional development courses such as promotional courses, experiential leadership development activities. You can also train to become a recruit instructor.

Benefits & allowances

Earn a competitive salary while training or learning your trade, along with additional allowances for time spent in the field, at sea, overseas, or deployed on operations.

In addition to salary and allowances, other benefits of joining the New Zealand Defence Force include:

Access to your Service marae or tūrangawaewae
Sponsored tertiary study programmes at all levels
Free access to gyms and swimming pools on camp and bases
Opportunities to travel
Free and subsidised medical and dental care
Subsidised food and accommodation on camps and bases
Subsidised insurance cover

Salary & benefits

Careers in the Army are well-rewarded, diverse and exciting. As you become more experienced and move up through the ranks, gaining additional skills and qualifications, your salary will rise accordingly.

Under training

$68,860
Future potential earnings

$98,000

Am I fit enough?

If you want to be part of the NZ Defence Force you need to be medically and physically fit for military duties worldwide.

Medical & Fitness

The application process

Your step-by-step guide on what to expect at various stages of the application process, specifically for military roles.

Application process

Ready to start your Army career?

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Tūranga whaipānga

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