Top 5 Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand

Technology is everywhere – from highly complex ones like robotics, artificial intelligence, and aeronautics to our everyday usage devices like smartphones, fitness gadgets, home appliances, laptops, etc. Any technology company’s success is determined by how well it communicates its products and services to its customers, and other stakeholders. That’s where technical writing skills come in handy. In this article, we’ll delve a little deeper into the technical writing field. We have handpicked 5 technical writing courses in New Zealand – both online and offline – which will set you just on the right track to becoming a skilled technical writer.

What is Technical Writing?

To put it simply, technical writing is the art of demystifying complex aspects of any technology and presenting it in a way that is easily understandable by its audience. Do you remember that small “User Guide” which you get when you buy any gadget?

If you have done any computer programming, you must have come across something called “Developers guide”. Or if you work in some technology company, you would have seen your product team giving presentations to its marketing team and investors. All these are forms of technical writing.

Types of Technical Writing

Technical writing entails a plethora of writing types depending upon which company you work for, the purpose of communication, and the type of audience.

1. Writing for Professional Audience: The pieces of communication written for field experts and professionals such as research papers, programming guidelines, repair manuals, Science and Medical Papers, Professional Reports and Reviews, etc.

2. Writing for End-Users: The “how-to” pieces of communication written keeping end-users in mind such as user help guides, product manuals, assembly guidelines, technical books, etc.

3. Writing for Marketing: The pieces of communication which are written to market the technical product or service such as White papers and Case studies, Proposals and Pitches, Brochures, etc.

Strong Demand for Technical Writers

New Zealand’s technology sector makes a substantial contribution to the country’s economy. The sector accounts for 8% of New Zealand’s GDP and has grown by 11.4 percent in 2020. With pandemic uncertainty and restricted borders, New Zealand requires more digitization to compete with the rest of the world’s rapidly rising digital businesses.

The demand for easy-to-understand documentation is expanding in tandem with the rise of software and electronic product firms. Companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of clear and succinct information, particularly online.

People with technical writing skills now have additional career opportunities thanks to the increased use of intranets and the internet. A lot of institutes are now providing Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand, both online and in-person,  to cater to this demand.

Lucrative Pay

Technical writers are paid differently depending on their talents, experience, and location of employment. Absolute IT, Hays, and TechCommNZ all agree that:

• New technical writers can expect to make $50,000 to $60,000 per year.
• Technical writers with one to four years of expertise can expect to earn between $60,000 and $100,000 on average.
• Technical writers in managerial roles can make anywhere between $100,000 and $130,000 per year.

Technical writers can work for a variety of companies, government agencies, private companies, and software developers, as well as electronics and equipment manufacturers. You can also freelance as a technical writer and work on a contract. Technical writers who work for themselves typically make between $35 and $110 per hour.

Joining a professional organization like TechCommNZ, building a large network, and establishing a solid reputation can improve your chances of landing a good job as a technical writer.

Now that we have a better understanding of the technical writing profession, let’s dive into our top 5 picks for technical writing courses in New Zealand.

1.  IIM SKILLS

Our first pick for Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand is Technical Writing Course by IIM SKILLS. IIM SKILLS, headquartered in New Delhi, India, is one of the world’s top online education service providers. This Technical Writing Master Course is a high-quality, one-of-a-kind course created by mentors with vast experience in the technical writing field.

Because of the institute’s small batch size, each participant receives individual attention. This online Technical Writing Training is a good fit for anyone with a desire to learn and a desire to pursue a profession in Technical Writing.

People who work in the following fields will find this course very useful:

• Writers of Content
• Marketing Managers
• Hardware Engineers
• Design/Development Engineers
• Technical Documentation Engineers
• Configuration and Control Engineers
• Engineers who work in software
• Technical Writers on the Job

Pre-requisites

• A graduate of any field with a passion for technology and writing.
• Language and communication abilities are important.
• Understanding the basics of the internet

The Technical Writing Master Course is a great place to start if you’re new to technical writing. This curriculum will reinforce and solidify your principles and prepare you for higher opportunities in the field if you already have some experience.

Duration & Mode of Delivery

This 5-weeks program includes 26+ hours of live online training and 60+ hours of practical assignments. The beauty of this method of delivery is that anyone from anywhere in the world can participate.

What you will learn

The Technical Writing Master Course focuses on all of the key skills needed to succeed in the profession of technical writing.

• Create/craft compelling and succinct written content.
• Recognize the many types of technical communication and choose the best format for delivering technical knowledge.
• Explain complicated technical topics in a way that is understandable to even a layman.
• Follow all formatting and documentation guidelines.
• Create aesthetically appealing documents by including design elements that also improve the reading experience.

This course includes the most up-to-date and practical tools for curating technical material as compared to other Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand. Investing in the correct tools and software is a fantastic way to make any task easier. This training will also teach you about the most effective software tools for technical writing.

Other Courses offered by IIM SKILLS

• Digital Marketing Course
• SEO Course
• Content Writing Course
• Financial Modeling Course
• Business Accounting And Taxation Course
• CAT Coaching

Contact: +919580740740, [email protected]

2. Auldhouse

Our second pick for Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand is a Technical writing course by Auldhouse. Auldhouse has been in the business of training for over 30 years. They have instructors who are highly trained and have a wealth of technical knowledge, competency, and hands-on experience.

Auldhouse is the most award-winning Microsoft Learning Partner, as well as a preferred partner for AWS, Google, Cisco, Red Hat, and a range of other vendors for providing technical writing courses in New Zealand.

Best Suited For

This is a starter program on technical writing. It is ideal for anyone who wishes to learn skills and techniques to create professional technical documents.

Pre-requisites

Anyone can join this course irrespective of their educational background or experience.

Duration & Mode of Delivery

This 2-days training program is delivered in two sections. The first day focuses on the theoretical components of technical writing, including how to get started, structure, style, and grammar. On day two, you’ll learn how to write for the web, as well as how to write short and long documents. Many of the lab tasks include templates that can be used in the field to reinforce the principles taught.

What you will learn

After completing this course, you will have the ability to demonstrate:

• Ability to create and use a technical brief, which includes audience profile, success criteria, and establishing a technical writing project’s scope.
• Content creation, useful consistent layout, navigable structure, and relevant titles are all part of the process of creating a recognized brand.
• The process of determining the acceptable degrees of grammatical accuracy for a technical document’s target readership.
• The distinctions between writing for print and writing for the online include making web material appealing, navigable, and ideal for speed-readers, as well as structuring web content in ways that help readers get the information they need.
• Ability to use technical writing approaches on shorter papers, such as forms, brochures, checklists, and policy and procedure documents, to mention a few.
• The ability to apply technical writing skills to longer documents such as academic theses, course manuals, and textbooks, as well as recognize similarities and distinctions among the many types of long papers provided.

3. Tactics

Our third pick for Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand is Structured Writing for Technical Documentation by Tactics. Tactics are one of the leading providers of performance support services in New Zealand With over 25 years of experience in delivering documentation and training services for public and private sector clients.

Structured Writing for Technical Documentation is a topic-based, modular approach to generating documentation that is simple to create, read, and utilize. It reduces the amount of time it takes to write, enhances reader understanding, and allows for the reuse of information.

Ruth Hamilton, who has worked as a documentation consultant, technical writer, and trainer for a variety of enterprises and organizations, is the course leader of all the Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand. She’s held workshops in New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, among other places.

Best Suited For

This training course is for people who develop and maintain user guides, policy and procedure manuals or standard operating procedures (SOPs), compliance and training documentation, and knowledge bases.

Pre-requisites

This program requires some basic understanding of the technical writing domain.

Duration & Mode of Delivery

This is a 2-day training course which has three different options of delivery:

• Inhouse and customized training for a group
• Online training via Zoom
• Public training in Wellington and Auckland

What you will learn

You’ll discover the Structured Writing principles, which are a tried and true collection of tools and procedures for:

• Examine the objective of your documents as well as the requirements of your target audience.
• Organizing information to fulfill the demands of the target audience, which may include a variety of information requirements.
• content presentation dependent on the type of data
• Creating modular content for economical reuse and maintenance, as well as organizing content to make it easier to navigate and find information.

4. Knowles Training Institute

Our fourth pick for Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand is Technical Writing Training Course by Knowles. Knowles Training Institute based in New Zealand is a world-class training & development solutions provider. Their courses are written and developed by a team of experts in their field.

Knowles is highly respected and regarded in the learning and development of courses. Of all Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand, this course is specifically designed for people working in a corporate setting.

Best Suited For

This course is ideal for anyone who would like to gain a strong grasp and improve their Technical Writing.

• Writers
• Editors
• Journalists
• Any Job Scope That Requires Technical Writing

Pre-requisites

This program requires some basic understanding of the technical writing domain.

Duration & Mode of Delivery

The duration of this Technical Writing Course in New Zealand workshop is 1 full day and is delivered both in-person as well as online.

What you will learn

After completing this course, you will have:

• An understanding of what technical writing is, the 5 most essential skills of a technical writer, and how technical writing can improve a business environment
• Ability to Identify your audience through audience analysis, recognize the importance of technical writing in terms of training manuals and Manage the influence of your technical writing
• Ability to compare the improvement made after the consumption of technical writing, communicate throughout the industry to ensure the writing is as varied as possible, Write useful technical papers, manuals, and white papers.
• Ability to assess your readers and produce documents to meet their requirements, build active sentences and sections that describe information, employ diagrams, tables, charts, and other graphical instruments effectively.
• Ability to create informational content that your readers will appreciate and use, organize ideas with the Front Loading Planner form reduce costly rewrites in later stages.
• Ability to comply with the ten standards of design, create a draft of the actual document, use the Four-Box Organizer form to prototype smaller papers, or structure larger prototypes quickly.
• Ability to transform complex concepts into sentences and paragraphs, compose a working text, evolve prototypes into an actual document.
• Ability to ensure the quality of the nearly finished product, check the accuracy of information, correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

5. CherryLeaf

Our fifth and last pick for Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand is the Technical writing course by CherryLeaf. Although CherryLeaf is a UK-based organization, its online delivery model is well established and accessible by anyone from New Zealand.

Cherryleaf is a technical writing services company founded in 2002 by people who are passionate about technical communication and learning improvement. They provide a variety of business and technical writing training courses and have taught technical communication to over 1000 people.

The popular, low-cost, and online Technical Author/technical writing course from Cherryleaf teaches you the fundamentals of technical writing for IT and software user documentation.

This course is ideal for you if you need to:

• Easily create end-user documentation and other instructive content.
• Learn the basics of technical writing.
• Learn everything there is to know about the Technical Author’s job.

This course is perfect for induction training for new graduate and junior authors, as well as more experienced technical writers who have never had any official instruction. It’s also ideal for people wishing to change careers and become Technical Authors.

Pre-requisites

Anyone can join this course irrespective of their educational background or experience.

Duration & Mode of Delivery

It is a 15-module self-paced course format, which is unique among all Technical Writing Courses in New Zealand. The training modules are given as compact, consumable video presentations over the Internet. Throughout the course, you’ll be assigned a project to work on.

This is a fantastic method to put everything you’ve learned into practice. You’ll also have the option of receiving instructor feedback on your exercises. The ideal duration of the course is 2 days. However, you can spread this time over a few days depending upon your comfort and understanding.

What you will learn

In this course, you will learn:

• The purpose and value of technical documentation
• The entire documentation process – what you need to do, from beginning to end – planning, writing, editing, indexing, and production.
• How to work more efficiently
• How to work more effectively – how to write and design your information in a structured, useful, usable, and informed way.

The Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators, the professional organization for Technical Communicators in the United Kingdom, has accredited the content of the Technical Author/technical writing training course. It’s a third-party evaluation of the course’s value.

The Society for Technical Communication in the United States, the Australian Society for Technical Communication, and the Technical Communicators Association of New Zealand have all recommended this course to their members.

Takeaways

In essence, Technical writing is an art of simplifying the complex. It’s one of the most lucrative niches and career options for anyone who wishes to become a writer. The burgeoning technology sector in New Zealand provides numerous prospects for you to break into this field.

Several technical writing courses in New Zealand can help you get started and put you on the fast track to becoming a skilled technical writer. It’s important that you select the training course which is most suitable for you.

If you’re new to writing, begin by mastering the fundamentals of any sort of writing. Develop your English language abilities. Immerse yourself in the work of other technical writers to see what makes their work so effective.

Depending on the sector, technical writing also necessitates knowledge of a technical discipline, such as engineering, computer science, or medicine. You may begin by enrolling in one of the technical writing courses in New Zealand. Also, consider pursuing a degree or diploma in any of these fields if you haven’t already done so to gain a deeper understanding of the sector.

Planning, time management, and project management skills will add to your portfolio and make you a top candidate for any organization wanting to hire a technical writer.

FAQs

1. To work as a technical writer, what qualifications do you need?

To work as a technical writer, there are no specific entry qualifications. Excellent writing abilities are necessary, and most employers prefer candidates who have a postsecondary qualification such as an English degree or a diploma in technical communication.

2. What do Technical writers do?

Technical Writers can perform the following tasks:

• Identify information requirements with managers, developers, users, and others.
• Plan, research, and write clear, accurate information such as instructions, SOPs, forms, and policies.
• Create material in a variety of formats, including video, online, audio, hard copy, and interactive eLearning.
• Analyze work tasks and manage documentation projects. Design the layout and structure of publications.
• Create business, scientific, and technical diagrams
• Test content for usability by editing other writers’ work for consistency and clarity.
• Manage the translation process.

3. Can you become a technical writer without a degree?

Candidates with a bachelor’s degree in English or another communications-related field are often preferred by employers. Candidates for technical writing positions may need a degree as well as an understanding of a technical discipline, such as engineering, computer science, or medicine.

4. How much are technical writers paid?

Technical writers are paid differently depending on their talents, experience, and location of employment. Absolute IT, Hays, and TechCommNZ all agree that:

• New technical writers can expect to make $50,000 to $60,000 per year.
• Technical writers with one to four years of expertise can expect to earn between $60,000 and $100,000 on average.
• Technical writers in managerial roles can make anywhere between $100,000 and $130,000 per year.
• Freelance Technical writers who work for themselves typically make between $35 and $110 per hour.

5. What education is needed for technical writing?

Technical writers must be strong communicators, both in writing and orally, quick learners, approachable, and able to relate to a wide range of people. Planning, time management, and project management are required management skills. Technical writers can specialize in a variety of fields, including:

• Science, engineering, and information technology
• Content approach for eLearning development
• Design for the user experience (UX).
• Job openings for public relations professionals

Conclusion

So, these are some of the best institutes on which you can blindly rely to make your future bright. If you are really willing to up-skill yourself then these listed institutes would be a great start.