AHC31824 Certificate III in Beekeeping

About this course

Build your skills with a Certificate III in Beekeeping

Take your beekeeping skills to the next level with Tocal College’s AHC31824 Certificate III in Beekeeping. This nationally recognised qualification will help you develop the practical skills and knowledge needed to manage honey bee colonies and support the operation of a beekeeping business.

The qualification is designed for commercial beekeepers and those managing multiple hives who want to build on their existing experience and gain formal recognition for their skills.

You’ll develop skills in:

managing honey bee colonies and swarms
transporting and managing hives
re-queening honey bee colonies
maintaining healthy colonies and managing pests and diseases
following workplace health and safety procedures
carrying out a range of practical beekeeping activities.

The qualification includes 18 units of competency, delivered through a combination of face-to-face training, online learning and workplace assessment. This flexible approach allows you to develop your skills through structured training and practical beekeeping activities.

Whether you’re managing multiple hives or operating a commercial beekeeping business, this qualification will help strengthen your knowledge, improve your practical skills and gain formal recognition for your beekeeping experience.

Is this course right for me?

This qualification is suited to commercial beekeepers and people managing multiple hives who want to develop their skills and gain a nationally recognised qualification. You should have an interest in honey bee colony management and be prepared to complete a combination of face-to-face training, online learning and workplace assessments. Beekeeping can involve physical outdoor work, including lifting and moving equipment, handling hive components and working in different weather conditions. You’ll also need access to a computer or laptop and a reliable internet connection for online learning. If you’re ready to build your beekeeping skills and gain formal recognition for your experience, click on the register now button.

At a glance:

Course duration:	Maximum of two (2) years
Start date:	Expressions of interests open
Number of units:	18
Indicative fees:	$7,920 (A NSW Smart and Skilled subsidy may be applied where eligible)
Accredited Course:	Yes

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Details

The qualification consists of 18 units of competency in total, delivered through a combination of face-to-face training and online training.. You can expect to attend 11 days of face-to-face training held in 4-day blocks here at Tocal College in Paterson, NSW.

More information is available in the Student Handbook or this course.

Core units

Elective units

Some of the electives on offer at Tocal College are:

Possible job roles for this qualification include:

Beekeeping
Honey Processing
Wax processing
Hive building
Queen bee breeding
Bee sales
Pollination services.

Participants must:

Have a minimum of 12 months of prior experience working with bees and currently own or have access to active beehives to complete workplace-based assessments.
Be a commercial beekeeper, a full-time employee of a commercial beekeeping business, or a beekeeper actively seeking to scale or diversify their apiary operations (as this is a trade-level qualification with a competitive, staged selection process).
Be physically capable of carrying out active outdoor apiary work, including standing for extended periods, bending, lifting and moving heavy hive supers (weighing up to 15–20 kg), handling live frames, and transporting hives in varying weather conditions across uneven terrain.
Supply and wear mandatory protective personal gear during practical work (including full bee suit or jacket with veil, protective gloves, and sturdy closed-in leather footwear).
Strictly follow field biosecurity measures, sanitation protocols, and Work Health and Safety (WHS) directions.

Language, Literacy, Numeracy, and Digital Capability Requirements

To complete this qualification successfully, participants will need:

Reading: Interpreting complex biosecurity codes of practice, state disease management regulations, Safety Data Sheets (SDS), chemical labels, pest/disease identification keys, and workplace safety frameworks.
Writing: Completing biosecurity logbooks, hive inspection logs, chemical application records, batch extraction records, and workplace assessment reports.
Numeracy: Calculating chemical and treatment dilution rates, measuring sugar syrup/pollen supplement ratios, tracking infestation levels (e.g., mite/pest threshold counts), monitoring brood frame numbers, and managing hive transport weights.
Oral Communication & Hearing: Communicating effectively with biosecurity officers, supervisors, and peers, delivering safety briefings, and reporting suspected exotic pests or diseases immediately.
Digital Literacy: Possessing basic-to-intermediate computing skills.

Up to two (2) years.

Assessment methods may include:

written reports
case studies and scenarios
oral presentations
quizzes
observations
interviews.

The principles of assessment will be followed and all assessments will be valid, reliable, flexible and fair and carried out by qualified assessors. Students will be advised of the assessment requirements prior to the assessment taking place.

Support is available via:

email and phone – refer to the contact details listed within your course
face-to-face mentoring sessions on-campus – you can book an appointment with your trainer
Canvas (the online learner management system).

The Certificate III in Beekeeping may be partially subsidised by NSW Smart and Skilled. The fee payable depends upon eligibility and access to concessions or exemptions. Individual fees will be provided during the application process.

Students not eligibly for a NSW Smart and Skilled susbsidy will pay the full qualification fee of $7,920.

Blended delivery, online and face to face.