As today's experienced food processing managers prepare for retirement, food and beverage companies struggle to ensure their next generation of managers are prepared to take the helm. Will the next group of managers be able to handle the new complex regulations – such as the Food Safety Modernization – as well the rise of social media as a public relations tool? The University of Nebraska-Lincoln answered this call by creating an online Food Processing Management Certificate program. The certification program is a series of self-paced online courses with content presented as pre-recorded video lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and quizzes to test understanding/comprehension. According to UNL, to earn the certificate, participants must complete three sequential modules, which cover food safety, quality control/assurance, employee safety, food processing operations, product development, growth strategies and human resources.
"The Food Processing Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has recognized our industry's major management challenges and it has worked with industry input to provide a solution. Its online Food Processing Management Certificate Program will allow us to establish our next generation of supervisors and managers relatively easily," says Gordon Smith, vice president at ConAgra Foods. The program is ideal for food processing plant workers, supervisors and managers; quality control and assurance personnel; as well as government regulators.The cost is $900 per module or $2,400 for the complete certificate program (three modules). Some states, such as California, offer tuition reimbursement through workforce development or labor department programs. Since the program is offered completely online, students can enroll from anywhere in the world and begin at any time.
