Meat Processing Training with Primary ITO
From short courses to full apprenticeships, we have a training solution for you. Enter your details below and we'll be in touch, or keep scrolling to learn more about our programmes.
Our Meat Processing Apprenticeships
Duration: 19 months
Level: 4
Gain the skills and experience to excel in one of the meat industry’s most essential roles.
As a qualified Slaughter Floor Operator, you’ll master advanced techniques for dressing large animal hides and small animal skins, while upholding the highest standards of quality, hygiene, and environmental care.
You’ll learn to:
- Apply company and industry requirements for safe, efficient slaughter and dressing operations
- Monitor compliance and maintain high standards of performance
- Work effectively as part of a skilled, fast-paced team
This apprenticeship will prepare you for a rewarding and respected career in meat processing, with practical, hands-on training and nationally recognised qualifications.
Duration: 23 months
Level: 4
Take your meat processing skills to the next level and gain a qualification recognised across New Zealand’s export industry.
As a qualified Export Meat Boner, you’ll learn how to process and bone meat to precise export standards, ensuring every cut meet customer and company specifications for quality and yield.
You’ll learn to:
- Optimise meat yield while maintaining quality and hygiene standards
- Break and bone carcasses of large or small animals to specification
- Apply company quality, environmental, and compliance requirements
- Work confidently and efficiently as part of a professional team
This apprenticeship opens the door to a rewarding career in export meat processing, giving you the expertise, confidence, and credentials to succeed in a fast-moving global industry.
Level 3 Training
Duration: 3 months
Level: 3
Suitable for employees new to the industry and their role, this micro-credential equips them with the skills to meet strict and robust regulations for Halal food product production and processing requirements and applying Shariah to the production and certification of Halal food and food products.
Learning Outcomes:
- Religious and customary beliefs of Halal slaughter.
- Islamic Shariah and New Zealand animal welfare requirements.
- Halal slaughter procedures and requirements.
- Halal food and food product traceability.
- Production and certification processes, compliance, non-compliance, and impacts.
This programme is delivered in partnership with Halal training providers, or via employer-led delivery, for employers with senior halal operations staff who hold both Primary ITO Assessor registration and the required halal qualification.
Duration: 2 months
Level: 3
This foundational micro-credential (bite-sized piece of learning) is suitable for entry-level employees across the food processing sectors and provides the learners with the skills and knowledge to apply quality assurance, environmental, safety, and hygiene and food safety practices within a food processing team.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and apply work area quality assurance requirements and monitoring
- Identify and apply work area sustainable environmental practices.
- Identify and comply with work area hygiene and food safety requirements.
- Identify and follow work area safe work practices and procedures.
- Identify teamwork procedures and collaborate in a team to complete tasks.
Duration: 4-6 months
Level: 3
There are four Meat Processing programmes - Pre and Post Slaughter, Meat Manufacturing, Rendering and Halal.
As well as building on the safety, hygiene, and quality skills of the Level 2 programme, each covers a variety of basic operational skills.
Learning Outcomes:
- Those undertaking the Pre and Post Slaughter strand will learn all about trimming, packing, handling stock, slaughter and viscera operations.
- Employees who complete the Meat Manufacturing strand will be able to manufacture meat products, prepare meat by products and cure manufactured meat products - all while working in a team.
- The Halal course teaches employees to apply Shariah to the production of Halal food products and produce Halal meat.
Duration: 6 months
Level: 3
This programme is suitable for those in quality assurance and product quality roles across the food processing industry. Graduates will gain knowledge of fundamental requirements in a food processing operation – including food safety, workplace safety, hygiene, and quality assurance operations.
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply knowledge of legislation to comply with workplace safety, environmental and quality assurance requirements in a primary products food processing operation.
- Carry out product quality implementation check operations in a primary products food processing operation.
Electives within the programme provide learners entry-level knowledge in risk management programmes, introduction to HACCP and reporting on specifications compliance.
Duration: 7 months
Level: 3
This foundational Workplace Health and Safety Practice programme is designed for health and safety coordinators and for employees with a health and safety focused role.
Graduates of this qualification will gain skills and knowledge relating to safe workplace practices and will be able to apply quality standards to workplace processes and apply knowledge of legislative requirements and principles of health and safety risk assessments to their job role.
Learning Outcomes:
- Apply knowledge of legislative requirements, duties and obligations of health and safety to a job role in the workplace.
- Apply workplace health and safety practices to contribute to health and safety in the workplace.
- Communicate workplace health and safety practices and their wider benefits to the New Zealand workplace.
- Apply the principles of health and safety risk assessment, including hazard identification and mitigation measures, to a job role.
Level 4 & Level 5 Training
Duration: 8-12 months (depending on strand)
Level: 4
These programmes will develop people in the meat and meat product industry into competent, experienced operators who can operate unsupervised. Programmes provide standards of competent performance for operations that can provide domestic and international markets with confidence in a quality range of meat products
There are many strands available:
- Boning Operations
- Meat Yield Optimization
- Slaughter Floor Operations
- Dressing Operations
- Grading
- Meat Quality Assurance
Learning Outcomes:
Graduates of all strands will be able to apply knowledge of company quality, environmental and hygiene requirements as well as plan and manage their work priorities.
Duration: 8-9 months
Level: 4
This programme is suitable for those in product auditing roles or environment systems focused roles across the food processing industry.
The Product Quality Auditing programme includes learning for experienced employees who conduct audit processes for certification, including halal and is also suitable for people who conduct internal product quality audits and quality assurance work.
Learning Outcomes:
All strands
- Plan and manage work priorities in a primary products food processing operation and provide workplace information.
- Carry out and monitor health and safety and quality practice requirements in a primary products food processing operation.
Environmental Strand
- Plan, prepare and carry out a range of advanced environmental management systems requirements in a primary products food processing operation.
Product Quality Auditing Strand
- Plan, prepare and carry out food products certification in a primary products food processing operation.
Register your interest and get in touch here.
Level: 4
The purpose of this qualification is to provide New Zealand workplaces with people that have the skills and knowledge to promote, monitor and manage health and safety practices and procedures, and a positive health and safety culture in the workplace.
Learning Outcomes:
- Implement, supervise, monitor, and communicate organisational and job specific health and safety requirements and practices, for a team in the workplace.
- Utilise leadership skills to promote the benefits of good workplace health and safety practices and a proactive health and safety culture within a team.
- Apply knowledge of health and safety risk analyses and mitigation strategies for a team in the workplace.
- Recognise the impact of work-related ill health and injuries on a specific business operation and the wider industry.
Duration: 4 months
Level: 5
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) is an internationally recognised, principal management method for ensuring food safety. Food safety regulation compliance is the backbone of our food processing industries.
This micro-credential provides learners with the skills and knowledge required to assess hazards relevant to food safety, identify control systems, and focus on preventative measures for a food processing operation.
This micro-credential is suitable for those working in the following roles:
- Technical Manager
- HACCP Coordinator
- QA and Risk Management Roles
Learning Outcomes:
On completion, graduates will be able to describe HACCP principles, identify hazards relevant to food safety, verify and review internal HACCP application and confidently present, justify and defend their organisational HACCP application.
Register your interest and get in touch here
We are here to help
Our team are here to support you throughout your learning. Support can include:
- Literacy and numeracy - dyslexia screening and literacy and numeracy tools
- Neurodiversity guidance - how to thrive in your learning environment
- Wellbeing - free counselling services
- Tips for keeping on top of your learning
- Goal setting and reviews
- Face-to-face and virtual visits from sector experts.
For more information email food.processing@primaryito.ac.nz, or register your details above, to speak to your local Training Adviser.