Provided applicants have satisfactory industry experience, chefs, engineers, clothing designers, builders and others should be able to complete an Otago Polytechnic degree and a University of Otago College of Education teaching diploma in two years instead of four.
The collaboration could result in up to 50 people beginning full-time study in Dunedin next year and about 100 people annually from 2012.
The project, which had received start-up funding from the Dunedin City Council economic development unit, was designed to fill a "desperate" national shortage of fully qualified technology teachers, Capable Teachers project leader Don Lawson said on Friday.
Under the scheme, applicants would have their skills and knowledge assessed against formal qualifications through Otago Polytechnic's Capable New Zealand department and would be assessed on their suitability for teaching.
If selected, they would enter a degree programme, probably at third-year level, and would be provisionally accepted into the College of Education after the successful completion of their degree.
Initially, students would be enrolled in one of three degrees, the new bachelor of culinary arts degree, the bachelor of design (product) or the bachelor of design (fashion).
The culinary arts degree was still subject to final approval from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, but Mr Lawson said the polytechnic was confident approval would be given in time for the programme to enrol its first students next year.
It was hoped the scheme could be extended in the future to people wishing to become teachers of other subjects such as physical education, IT, graphic design and electronics which linked to Otago Polytechnic degrees, Mr Lawson said.
"We see this as the beginning of bigger things."
The aim was to establish Dunedin as a national centre of excellence for technology teachers, he said.
The scheme was also expected to attract another large group of participants - the many technology teachers who had entered the classroom without degrees now wishing to obtain a relevant qualification.
After being assessed on their prior learning, most would be enrolled as second or third-year students and would complete their degrees part-time or full-time via distance learning, he said.
There was "great excitement" among industry organisations and technology teachers about the scheme, Mr Lawson said.
For those in their 30s or 40s wanting a change of career it offered an achievable training goal, while for technology teachers it was an attractive professional development option, he said.
Both Otago Polytechnic and the University of Otago are limiting enrolments next year as the Government clamps down on the amount of tertiary study it funds. Mr Lawson said both institutions were committed to the Capable Teachers scheme and would make places available to participants.
