While eight fruit growers battle it out for the 2015 Bay of Plenty Young Fruit Grower title in Tauranga today, 150 college students are also enjoying a taste of what careers in horticulture have to offer them.

It's all part of a day-long event at Mills Reef Winery aimed to recognise the industry's brightest young growers and encourage the next generation to take up careers in horticulture.

Simon Bowker taking part in the young grower competition this morning. Photo: Graeme Brown. Video by Ross Brown.

Organisers of the event have been overwhelmed with the support of 40 organisations from around the Bay of Plenty which have committed sponsorship, prizes, people and resources to the event; and all 288 tickets have sold out for the gala dinner and prize-giving this evening.

'This year's sponsorship and support reflects the commitment from organisations all over the Bay of Plenty to develop our future horticultural leaders and to attract fresh new talent into the industry through Cultivate Your Career,” says New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated President, Neil Trebilco.

The Cultivate Your Career programme is running concurrently with the young grower contest and is introducing students from 10 Western Bay Schools, along with additional students from Rotorua Boys' High and St Paul's Collegiate School in Hamilton, to the exciting opportunities within the industry.

While students are gaining an insight into the industry, it's the technical and practical skills of the young growers which are under scrutiny as they take part in a series of challenges ranging from biosecurity to fungicide treatment, designed around the fundamental skills needed to run a successful fruit-growing business.

The final test is to present a speech to the audience during the evening's gala dinner which will also feature charity auction to raise funds for Vanuatu cyclone relief.

The winner of the Bay of Plenty title will represent the region at the National Young Grower of the Year competition in Christchurch in August.

The young grower contestants are: Aaron Hokopaura (24) – grower services representative and technical support at Aongatete Coolstores Limited, Katikati

Chris Clement (28) – line manager at Apata Group Limited, Te Puke

Craig Ward (26) – technical advisor at Apata Group Limited, Katikati

Reuben Wallis (30) – orchard gang supervisor at Onyx Horticulture Ltd, Whangarei

Courtenay McBride (21) – Baygold staff supervisor at Baygold Ltd, Te Puke

Greg Brown (25) – production manager at Seeka Kiwifruit Industries, Te Puke

Simon Bowker (28) - orchard manager at EHC Orchard Management, Te Puke

Samantha Mansell (27) – assistant quality manager at Seeka Kiwifruit Industries, Te Puke.