Working with FDQ has ensured that the training we do is right for our business and staff.
Nicola Cousins
Moy Park
This applies to those who work with animals and poultry in care, movement, preparation and slaughter to process food for human consumption, including operatives and Animal Welfare Officers (AWOs).
At the heart of this new regulation sits a proficiency qualification, which we at FDQ have had accredited by Ofqual. This means that we are now able to approve meat and poultry businesses and learning providers to deliver and assess this qualification. This qualification must be achieved by those in lairage and slaughter operations to be able to practice in this environment.
Once learners have achieved at time of assessment and received their qualification certificate (from FDQ), they can then apply for their Certificate of Competence from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in England and DARD in Northern Ireland.
The welfare of animals at time of killing (WATOK) suite of qualifications is fully accredited and recognised as the qualification certificate cited in EU Regulation 1099/2009 and, in particular Articles 7, 17, 21, 29 and Annex IV. The achievement of the qualification allows individuals to apply for a certificate of competence to work in lairage and slaughter operations.
These qualifications assess and confirm the competence of individual learners in the workplace in the protection of animals or birds at time of killing. The units of the qualification must be selected to reflect the areas of work and the animal species which an individual is responsible for, or working with.
The units within this qualification cover all species, including chicken, turkey, duck, goose, farmed game bird, ratite, bovine, ovine/caprine, porcine, equine, large game and lagomorph.
These are particularly popular with employers as training and assessment can be carried out largely within the workplace. This means qualifications can be undertaken during the working day and require minimal time off the job.
The qualifications and associated training can be tailored to be relevant to an individual’s daily work and business procedures, to ensure maximum benefit is derived by both the learner and their business.
16/4/2018
Having worked in the meat trade for almost half a century people often ask how I stay so motivated and interested in the business. That’s an easy question to answer – “because butchery is an exciting business to be in.”
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