Latest listings on AgJobs Central recruitment page:

• Member Services Officer, Armidale NSW (Angus Australia)
• Maintenance Hand, Jondaryan QLD (Stockyard)
• Commercial Manager, Toowoomba QLD (Allied Beef)
• Business Development Manager, Meat (Rimfire Resources client)
• Asst Operations Manager, Rockhampton QLD (Jarrah Cattle Co)
• North Australia Beef Research Council Chair
• Feedlot Admin Officer – Wallumba feedlot, Qld (MDH)
• Agriculture/Agribusiness Graduate Position – Qld (MDH)
• Experienced Farm Mgmt couple looking for next career opportunity – NSW
• Territory Sales Mgr, Yass/Young NSW (AgriBusiness Recruitment client)
• Station Manager, Soudan Station NT (NAPCo)
• Operations Manager, Charleville – Qld (ACC)
• Experienced Maintenance Hand, Nanango – Qld (Pakaderinga feedlot)
• Senior Sales Agronomist, Yarrawonga – Vic (Lucas Group)
• Overseer/Senior Station Hand, King Island – Tas (TRT Pastoral)
• Assistant Feedlot Manager, Roma – Qld (DroverAg client)

Click here to access these and other exciting meat and livestock supply chain jobs currently listed on AgJobs Central.

A SERIES of retail butchery pre-employment training programs have been launched to drive an uplift in trade qualifications and soften the impact of labour shortages on the retail meat industry.

Driven by meat industry training organisation MINTRAC in collaboration with service providers MAX Employment, the project received funding from Training Services NSW under the NSW Government’s Trade Pathways Innovation Fund.

The first round of training took place last month on the Illawarra South Coast in NSW.

MINTRAC chief executive Mick Crouch said a second round of training is due to start in March 2024.

“MINTRAC is looking forward to further developing the program and building on our project partnerships,” Mr Crouch said.

Last month’s pilot program selected ten candidates from a field of job-seekers, considered the best fit for the requirements of retail butchery.

The three-day program was designed to provide the candidates with the necessary theoretical and practical knowledge, including hygiene and sanitation, food safety, quality assurance, manual handling skills, and workplace equipment, including personal protective equipment and knife handling demonstrations.

MINTRACs Mark Wadsworth, a qualified butcher with 20 years’ experience, delivered the core knowledge training, with guest speakers from AMIC and TAFE NSW delivering presentations to provide industry context and settings, and to outline the retail butchery training framework.

Registered Training Organisation MAX Employment delivered training on Manual Handling.

On the final day, the candidates visited five different retail butchers in the Illawarra area, including Albion Park Village Meats, Superior Meats on Addison, Shellharbour Meats and Smallgoods, Bush’s Meats, and Keiraville Butchery.

All five sites offered great insights into the life and daily work-cycle of a typical butcher.

Course participants visiting the Albion Park butchery in the Illawarra region

All ten participants completed the course and received Graduation Certificates. Already, 50 percent of candidates from the pilot are engaging with prospective employers.

The Trade Pathways Innovation Fund responds to the unique skills needs of different trade sectors. The Fund aims to improve the accessibility of trade training, particularly for students such as women, mature workers and school leavers.

In the case of meat retailing, it aims to drive an uplift in new training enrolments into Certificate III in Meat Processing (Retail Butcher) to build broader skills in the retail butchery sector of the meat industry.

The program offers new entrants into the meat industry free enrolment into Certificate III which will set them on their journey towards acquiring trade skills and qualifications.