The purpose of this qualification is to provide the wool industry with people who have gained the knowledge and practical skills to class high quality and high value wool either in a wool shed or elsewhere in the wool supply chain. Graduates will be trained and educated to the level of working with the top 10% to 15% of the New Zealand wool clip by volume (representing 40% to 50% of the New Zealand wool clip by value). Graduate classers bring to the wool environment a unique blend of knowledge of wool science, wool production, and wool economics both domestic and international.

The wool and textile industries will benefit from having people with wool classing skills and who are able to maximise returns at all stages of the wool supply chain, from the growing and harvesting process, through to sales, first and second stage processing, and end use.

Graduates will benefit from having a qualification that recognises their knowledge and skills in wool classification as applied within a range of contexts across the national and international wool supply chain.

Graduates will be capable of working autonomously with responsibility for the quality of output of others throughout the wool supply chain.

This qualification is a pre-requisite to professional classer registration. Graduates who become registered with the New Zealand Wool Classers Association (NZWCA) are awarded a unique classer number and wool classing range (stencil) that is recognised in the wool supply chain.

Trainees may choose to specialise in shed classing on completion of the New Zealand Diploma in Wool Technology by completing the optional endorsement in Shed Classing. This endorsement recognises the additional specialised skills and knowledge required to class wool during the shearing process.

Graduates of this qualification will be able to:

- Apply knowledge of the science of wool production to wool analysis.
- Apply knowledge of wool processing technology to wool classification decisions.
- Interpret sales and marketing systems to classification decisions in the wool supply chain.
- Interpret wool characteristics and use wool classification codes when classing wool fibre and when reporting findings to stakeholders.

Graduates of the Shed Classing strand will also be able to:
- Class wool in an in-shed (wool shed) classing environment, to a commercially acceptable standard and report findings to stakeholders.

This qualification can build on the New Zealand Certificate in Wool Handling (Level 4) [Ref: 2403].

There are no mandatory prerequisites to meet regulatory body, or legislative requirements for this qualification.