Name: Nicola Bennett

Years in industry: 4

Occupation: Seafood Assistant, Progressive supermarkets

Location: Te Atatu, Auckland

Nicola Bennett is the part New Zealand's seafood industry that most of us are familiar with - the friendly face behind the counter advising us on the catch of the day or suggesting a different species to try for our seafood meals this week.

A keen recreational fisher and seafood-lover, Nicola grabbed the opportunity to work as seafood assistant at her local supermarket in Te Atatu, Auckland.

"It's fabulous to be able to provide people with seafood from their own country," says Nicola - a privilege that Kiwis enjoy above many other countries worldwide. "And it's the best quality you'll get - fresh from our sea."

From sea to shelf

Each day Nicola's job involves checking the seafood that has arrived fresh from the fisherman early that morning before wrapping and packing it into trays and then labelling and pricing.

The refrigerated display case is cleaned thoroughly and then Nicola gets to work presenting the likes of mussels and scallops, and a variety of fresh fish for the day's customers.

"Our seafood is as fresh as anywhere. Customers can be sure they are getting top-quality, sustainable New Zealand seafood," says Nicola. When fish arrives off the vessels in Auckland it is auctioned at a fish market to supermarket companies and other seafood retailers.

Training on the job

One of the advantages of working as a seafood assistant is that Nicola was able study and train toward the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) National Certificate in Seafood Retail (Level 2).

"It's huge for me to have achieved the certificate. Here I am at 40 and I never thought I'd have a certificate of any kind - I didn't realise my passion for seafood could be turned into a qualification. How cool is that? The opportunities at Progressives are fantastic."

The certificate took Nicola four months to complete but as she was able to apply her new skills in her daily role it was very achievable.

"I love customer service and with the training I have so much more confidence to help people on things like which seafood to choose and how to store it properly - knowledge is a great thing."

"If I give 110 percent customer service, I go home happy at the end of the day," she says. "People really love seafood and want to learn more about it - and I love telling them!"