Promoting meat cutting as a career is the concept behind a public awareness campaign called Meat Force.
“The idea is to attract people to the meat industry,” said Brad McLeod, co-ordinator of the Olds College meat processing program that accepts up to 24 students per year.
About 80,000 Canadians work in the meat business but few young people are aware of the range of careers from inspection to meat processing.
“The whole focus is to open people’s eyes to the careers in the meat industry,” said Cody Cunningham of Alberta Agriculture.
Read Also
Coloured bean production down, whites are up
Bean prices have been slumping and the outlook is for more of the same.
Focus groups revealed young people thought of the meat business as working in a cold, damp, dark place with plenty of heavy lifting. Modern processing facilities are hygienic, well lit and use new technology.
“There are different careers and different opportunities within the industry,” said McLeod, who has been a meat cutter since 1993 when he learned his trade at Olds College. He has been an instructor for eight years.
“It you want to work in the oilpatch, the money is better. We can’t compete with that but if you want to work in the meat industry, you’ll be home every night and there has never been a major layoff,” McLeod said.
The campaign started in Alberta and moves to British Columbia and Saskatchewan later this month.
Television programs featuring celebrity chefs have spurred interest in culinary training.
Olds College offers a five month course training people from the slaughter stage to sausage making. It also teaches the business side for those interested in owning their own abattoir.
Apprenticeships are available in Saskatchewan and a proposal has gone to the Alberta apprenticeship board to establish something similar.
Training programs are offered at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Calgary, Olds College and the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology. All are members of the Canadian Professional Meat Cutters Association.
Information on jobs and training can be found at www.meatforce.ca.
Money to support the campaign comes from Agriculture Canada and Alberta Agriculture.
