Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
(N/A)
LINCOLN,NE 68583
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Nebraska is a leader in the meat and poultry processing sectors, both in terms of animal volume and in terms of employment in the sector. Given the enhanced focused on processing capacity at all levels, plans are underway to dramatically increase processing capacity at both new and existing facilities across the state. The success of these initiatives will depend on the ability of processors to recruit, train, and retain a skilled workforce to maintain safe, effective operations. In line with this need, we are proposing the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture Meat and Poultry Processing Targeted Workforce Credentialling Pilot, a program in which NCTA will partner with the Nebraska Association of Meat Processors to develop a hyper-targeted training curriculum aligned to the immediate- and near-term hiring needs of Nebraska's processors.NCTA hosted an initial workshop with 28 meat industry leaders in August of this year in order to learn more about the workforce development challenges plants face. The group identified a set of priority skill needs including: meat cutting, knife handling, safety, sanitation animal handling and. Through the proposed program, NCTA would leverage its existing teaching expertise to develop short courses in these priority skills. Importantly, courses will include experiential learning components with our industry partners. Upon successful completion of these targeted credentialling programs, students would be granted digital badges by NCTA. Industry representatives from both large and small processors shared that such credentials will be recognized and accepted. Students would then be given priority consideration for appropriate employment opportunities.The United States animal slaughtering and processing industry has about 527,000 jobs as of May 2019 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics). Nebraska is at the epicenter for red meat production in the US, ranking first in commercial cattle slaughter, second in commercial red meat production, and sixth in commercial hog slaughter. In Nebraska, one out of four jobs is related to agriculture; 9,200 people are employed as meat cutters in the fresh meat processing segment and additional 1,850 in the harvest segment of the industry . This represents about one third of the total workers who have jobs in the meat industry making Nebraska among the highest by percentage in the nation. While the state is home to 15 large processing plants (USDA defines large plant as greater than 500 employees) and 49 small USDA-inspected establishments (greater than 10 employees) it also has a well distributed network of 37 very small privately owned processing plants (less than 10 employees or annual sales less than $2.5 million) which are located across the 93 counties in the state. Many of these are in the 84 counties that are considered rural counties based on the definition by the Office of Management and Budget. A third of Nebraskans, or 660,028 people, live in these rural communities (USDA Economic Research Service). While the unemployment rate in rural Nebraska is 2.1percent the poverty rate 9.9percent indicating the importance of provide skilled jobs that the meat industry can provide in rural communities.In August 2022, the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture hosted an information gathering "Think Tank" with 28 meat industry leaders to discuss the needs for workforce development in the industry. Those who attended included stakeholders from both small privately owned plants in rural communities to large packers who employ several hundred workers as well as beef cattle producers and young entrepreneurs who are producing and marketing meat products directly to consumers. Participants shared their perspective on challenges to business development, including to recruitment, training, and retention of qualified employees. Additionally, representatives from the Nebraska Association Meat Processors and faculty from the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources from the University of Nebraska provided technical insight and input on priority needs.A reoccurring theme was the difficulty processors face in finding and onboarding new hires. Training new line workers at the entry level takes time and diverts already strapped resources at plants, particularly for small and very small processors. New and/or potential employees vary widely in their existing knowledge of the industry and the necessary skills; some have no prior knowledge at all. On-the-job training must cover everything from knife skills and cut types to animal handling and food safety. Small processors invest in training these skills, but often find new employees may leave very shortly after their hire - sometimes within hours when they didn't anticipate the challenges of working within an operational processing plant. Meat Processing plants, both large and particularly small plants, often do not have the capacity needed to train individuals to be successful. A well-developed program will not only increase the skill set of individuals coming with little background, but we believe it will also have a profound improvement in retention, worker satisfaction and safety.Industry emphasized that it would go a long way if potential hires had a baseline understanding of the industry and potential job paths before they started their employment, along with some preliminary training in essential skills. For plants, both large and small, such a program would alleviate some of the initial burden of training and would help them better fit applicants to a position where they would be successful. Importantly, for workers it would help ensure the careers they pursue are well matched to their interests, skills, and objectives. It may also make careers in the meat sector more attractive and accessible to those who grew up with no exposure to the meat industry.The Nebraska Meat and Poultry Processing Training Pilot would use the period of grant performance to accomplish the following milestones:• Host a follow-up workshop within the first two months of grant award to refine the objectives and outcomes with pilot participants (processing plants across NE) with representation from both large and locally owned small processors.• Align on specific, targeted skills and competencies required to meet immediate hiring needs of pilot participants.• Define at least three digital badges granted by NCTA aligned to immediate hiring needs of pilot participants; curriculum complexity and duration should be appropriate for non-traditional learners who seek near-term employment (i.e. not seeking multi-year degrees). Materials will be developed in both English and Spanish.• Conduct outreach to recruit diverse learners to the program; we anticipate both that plants will direct potential students to the program and that NCTA will recruit through new and existing channels in collaboration with the Nebraska Association of Meat Processors; Special focus will include recruiting veterans, members of tribal communities, minority populations and underserved audiences in rural areas by connecting to locally and statewide with the Nebraska Department of Labor. Special connections will be held at tribal institutions, community colleges and high schools that have a high percentage of underserved populations.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
A reoccurring theme was the difficulty processors face in finding and onboarding new hires. Training new line workers at the entry level takes time and diverts already strapped resources at plants, particularly for small and very small processors. New and/or potential employees vary widely in their existing knowledge of the industry and the necessary skills; some have no prior knowledge at all. On-the-job training must cover everything from knife skills and cut types to animal handling and food safety. Small processors invest in training these skills, but often find new employees may leave very shortly after their hire - sometimes within hours when they didn't anticipate the challenges of working within an operational processing plant. Meat Processing plants, both large and particularly small plants, often do not have the capacity needed to train individuals to be successful. A well-developed program will not only increase the skill set of individuals coming with little background, but we believe it will also have a profound improvement in retention, worker satisfaction and safety.Industry emphasized that it would go a long way if potential hires had a baseline understanding of the industry and potential job paths before they started their employment, along with some preliminary training in essential skills. For plants, both large and small, such a program would alleviate some of the initial burden of training and would help them better fit applicants to a position where they would be successful. Importantly, for workers it would help ensure the careers they pursue are well matched to their interests, skills, and objectives. It may also make careers in the meat sector more attractive and accessible to those who grew up with no exposure to the meat industry.The Think Tank identified priority training topics including:basic understanding of carcass anatomy and knife skills;understanding of the importance and steps needed to insure proper sanitation; and,worker safety, animal handling and teamwork.
Project Methods
Curriculum development, implementation and assessment - We recognize that the grant proposal did focus heavily on curriculum development. The intent is to identify existing educational materials and organize them in a manner where students engage in both interactive and hands on learning experiences. Implementation of the program is to utilize currently made educational videos along with learning exercises prior to engaging students in hands on learning experiences in a meat science laboratory.Carcass AnatomyIdentify primal and sub-primal portions of the carcass and respective retail cuts.List the major muscles and their uses.Understand muscle to fat ratios with determining yield and quality grade capabilities.SanitationDemonstrate awareness of HAACP and clean environment impact on meat quality.Describe the steps to ensure cleanliness of equipment.Knife SkillsDemonstrate the proper handling and usage of knives.Demonstrate knowledge of the importance of how to sharpen knives properly and cleanWorker SafetyDemonstrate the ability to work with other employees while using sharp equipment.Sanitation of employees and workspaceAssessment of learning skills is critical to the success of this career pathway program. Engaging students in every learning experience with hands on opportunities and instantaneous feedback will insure not only their confidence in skills learned but also a greater understanding of the contribution of these skills to the employer.We aim to do this by implementing the following.Assessments of Online Video information through upon completion of learning modules.Direct Observation and assessment of workplace safety and knife skills.Proper personal protective equipment through.Assessments will be maintained at a % ranking and all assessments for participants will be kept and/or shared with possible employers.