POST HARVEST (Seafood Processing, Seafood Sales and Distribution) Traineeship
Australian seafood is much sought after both locally and internationally because of its quality. Post harvest operations are a vital part of the seafood chain, making sure that our seafood harvest is safe and great to eat.
Seafood processing companies offer a wide range of work opportunities depending on the type of seafood processed and where the seafood it sent. Tasks may include filleting, cooking, smoking, marinating, grading, packing, freezing and loading of seafood.
Seafood Sales and Distribution can involve processing work as well as sales work. Tasks may include preparation, value adding, merchandising, selling, and packing of seafood as well as preparing the sales area and providing advice to customers on products and services.
What sort of jobs are there?
Most positions for a new entrant in seafood processing will be as a general processing worker and may involve filleting fish, opening oysters and other shellfish, grading and sorting seafood product as well as moving stock, controlling the temperature of seafood, and cleaning and tidying the premises, work areas and equipment.
A new worker in seafood sales and distribution will be a sales assistant and will be expected to prepare products for sale, merchandise and retail the productsand assist in maintaining the premises safelyand hygienically. They will be expected to interact well with customers.
Seafood processing leading hand supervises other employees and monitors food safety and occupational health and safety as well as undertaking specialist roles. For example, they may handle and pack sashimi grade fish, or cook prawns and other crustaceans.
A sales supervisor would doing similar work to sales staff, as well as supervising and coaching other staff, and assisting the sales manager with merchandising and buying seafood products for sale in their premises.
Future prospects for people in Seafood Processing and Seafood Sales and Distribution can include positions as supervisors and managers or specialist roles such as marketing, exporting and quality control.
Qualifications
Vocational qualifications for trainees in Seafood Processing and Seafood Sales and Distribution are available from Certificate I to III and can be customised to meet the needs and interests of both employer and trainee. The qualification may focus on processing or sales and distribution or a combination of both.
Contact either the Australian Fisheries Academy on (08) 83032780, the Career Employment Group on (08) 8645 3033 or your local New Apprenticeship Centre for further details.
