The National Seafood Sector Council has completed the following projects and final reports and course materials are now available.

HR Tool Kit:

The objective of this project is to license the paper based HR toolkit and the CD based version from Canadian Tourism Human Resources Council (CHRTC) and to fund the content customization. The modules will also be augmented by CTHRC’s Performance First Series, industry specific case studies, and the following five new developments.

Together with industry NSSC will develop:

§ A step-by-step component on how to develop and build an HR department,

§ A module on how to make the workplace inclusive of the various minority groups including; aboriginal, disabled, visible minorities, etc.,

§ A dedicated job board for companies in the industry,

§ Develop a report which outlines available government funding Assistance for Small and Medium Size Enterprises, and

§ Develop a dictionary/lexicon for the sector with food industry acronyms and terminology, translated in a variety of languages.

The finished product will serve as a roadmap and provide step-by-step, no-nonsense approach to securing, retaining and managing employees. It will include implementation techniques and guidelines for companies to develop a stable and inclusive HR department. The main target user group will be micro, small and medium-sized operations in the food processing industry.

Small and medium-sized businesses will find that the processes outlined in the HR Toolkit will lead to easier staff management, successful employment relationship outcomes, improved attraction and retention efforts and thus improved profitability. NSSC anticipates that the use of these tools will contribute to helping the food processing industry become employers of choice and raise their competitive advantage for quality staff in a tight labour market.

The true value of the tool lies in how it will be applied to the business. Operators will find the toolkit to be a valuable resource when running their business. Below is a list of the contents of the paper and CD based toolkits. Each topic will be tailored and customized to meet the needs of the food processing sector.

Orientation Program for the Food Processing Industry:

This project will proceed to develop an Orientation Program for the broader food processing industry.  The method by which the content material will be created will be to adapt the existing industry based skills sets from the Orientation to Sanitation & Hygiene and the Seafood Spoilage & Food Safety courses.  The curriculum will be developed using the new skills sets and will be validated by industry through workshop sessions across Canada.  Existing video footage as well as new footage within the broader food processing facilities will be required to create a new Orientation video to meet with up-to-date regulatory requirements of standard operating procedures.  The video will be validated using the same channel as the curriculum.

Industry stakeholders will find the material a useful training tool for understanding and implementing requirements on standard operating procedures and food spoilage/safety within their organizations.  The material developed will focus on providing the food processing industry with knowledge of bacteria, what they are, how they multiply, harmful vs. beneficial bacteria, the importance of personal hygiene and sanitation, how and why food spolis, what causes food to become rancid and the definitions of tainted, decomposed and unwholesome.

The objective will be to provide employees in the food processing industry with a resource tool aimed at providing knowledge in the areas of standard operating procedures and food spoilage/safety.  It will be available in a flexible format and will be delivered in the form of a workshop/seminar or within the plant environment.

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Introduction to Productivity Training:

The overall objective of this project is to provide the seafood/food processing industry with an introduction to productivity training resource that will outline the necessary skill enhancing features to help understand the importance of becoming “lean” in the workplace, and adopting good manufacturing practices. By doing so, organizations can gain a better understanding of the importance of productivity training, and the bigger picture, which is “lean manufacturing” throughout the workplace. Understanding the basic concepts, and then implementing the principles can lead to increased competitiveness in the global market, production of high quality products by highly trained workers, in an environment that will improve volume and production. The project aims to introduce the basic concepts of productivity training into the workplace and dispel the myths that surround the topic.

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Career Focus Program:

The Sectoral Youth Career Focus Program offers seafood and fish processing employers an opportunity to receive a wage subsidy to hire skilled youth on a six to 12 month placement. Career Focus offers employers the chance to access some of the skills that NSSC's situational analysis research indicates could further strengthen our sector, skills such as business, marketing, design, processing, engineering or other technical abilities.

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Skills for a Safe and Secure Food Supply:

To provide employees in the seafood and food processing industry with resource tools in the areas of food safety and security in the form of a training video and a how - to quide, with CD - ROM. These resource tools will be available in a flexible that can be delivered in the form of a workshop/seminar or within the plant environment. Training developed will focus on identifying the importance on - site inspection systems, establishing procedures in the facilities and facilitating compliance with regulatory requirements.

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Fundamentals of Quality Assurance

To bridge the skills and training gaps of QA technicians in the processing sector by developing and validating skills standards for this key position, and developing a training course that will educate industry employee on how design, implement and report on quality management systems such as HACCP and other regulatory requirements, as well as develop troubleshooting skills.

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Food Diagnostic Phase II

This phase will expand upon the HR Challenges and issues discovered in phase one. The NSSC will expand the Food Diagnostic Committee, by bringing additional key stakeholders to the table. The industry will be accessed at a sufficient level to enable the NSSC to ensure a definitive action plan at the end of this project. With the assistance of the Executive Summary produced in Phase I, one-on-one stakeholder interviews will lead to the development of a Discussion Paper, which will be validated nationally, and will include a model framework that documents the opinions of the focus groups and the outcomes.

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Regulatory Export Certification Products for Fish & Seafood

The objective of the project is to provide a Roadmap of information resources and tools that are based on legislation within Canada and abroad. Countries and jurisdictions such as China , the European Union, Mexico , and others now require stringent adherence to new and revised export regulations. This Roadmap will be available to the industry through the World Wide Web and in a hard copy booklet for fish and seafood processors to ease export abroad, without delays.

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Certification Program Business Case Executive Summary

*Now available to download free from our website *

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