Skills training in Victoria’s food manufacturing industry will receive a boost this Thursday with the launch of the state government’s new Food Skills Program at Food Science Australia (FSA).
An initiative of Regional Development Victoria, the Food Skills Program will train final-year university students in the use and application of food manufacturing equipment and technologies in a series of ‘practical’ sessions at Food Science Australia’s food manufacturing plant at Werribee.
The universities of Ballarat, Victoria, Melbourne, Deakin and RMIT along with the Food Technology Association of Australia (FTAA) and food industry leaders are developing a curriculum designed to produce more graduates who possess the practical skills necessary to work effectively in the industry.
The students will undergo practicals in the emerging food processing technology — high-pressure processing — as well as food processing techniques such as: separations, evaporation, spray drying, cheese making, retorting and margarine manufacture.
FSA will provide expert CSIRO staff along with their world-class pilot-scale food plant valued at over $30M.
The plant provides the necessary equipment for Australian food manufacturers and researchers to trial the manufacturing of new products and implement innovative food processing technology.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Victorian Minister for Industrial Relations, Ms Jaala Pulford, will launch the program.
Also speaking at the launch will be:
· Lloyd Simons, Project Leader, Food Science Australia
· Quinton Wilkinson, Innovations Support Manager, McCain Foods Australia and New Zealand
· Dr Peter Aldred, Food Science & Technology Program Co-ordinator & Sen. Lecturer, University of Ballarat