Posted: 02/09/2007--25/11/2008 || Rate this Article: 3 || Views|| Sign In || Register ||Hello Guest
Since the events of 9/11 the need for safety management within many sectors has been dramatically increased. This has been especially true in the field of Food Safety Management. If youre considering starting a food safety career there are steps to take that will give you the background needed to apply for these types of positions.
There are many different levels of food safety management, and each one requires different levels of education and training. If you want to apply for upper management positions you will need at least a masters degree or even a Ph.D., depending on the specific requirements of the hiring company. These advanced degrees need to be in a related food safety field like chemistry, toxicology, food safety, etc. However most organizations will also look at your experience in the food safety field and allow experience to compensate for educational deficits.
If you already work in the food industry and want the chance for advancement to a food safety management position but lack the education and training to qualify for such positions, there are several certified training programs in Food Safety Management that can be taken via distance education, seminars, or on campus. These programs have nominal fees that allow an affordable alternative to a full advanced degree program. They present the main topics related to the field, and give training in analysis, model building, and protocols needed for people in food safety management. They are delivered in condensed and easy to management courses. These courses are intended to train workers for companies who cannot afford to implement a full food safety management program, and for companies that simply wish to increase their level of food safety. Basic level courses cover topics such as risk analysis, risk management issues, risk communication, and risk assessment. Upper level courses build on the basics and give more in-depth coverage of topics such as: economics for risk analysis, qualitative risk assessment methods, model building, epidemiology, and food toxicology.
These types of programs can be taken in addition to regular college courses for no-credit, or they can be incorporated into a degree program and be taken for-credit. The difference will be in the cost of the class. For-credit courses will be more expensive.
On the job training is another way to gain experience and earn the opportunity for advancement to upper level positions. Entering with a bachelors degree, a person can work their way up from an entry level position like cleaning and sterilization, to upper level positions of risk assessment and analysis.
In order to determine what types of jobs that you can qualify for, you can commensurate 5-7 years of on the job training as one degree level. For example 5-7 years experience + no degree is worth a bachelors level education. A bachelor degree + 5-7 years experience is equal to a masters level education. A masters degree + 5-7 years experience is equal to a Ph.D. level education. This is meant to only serve as a guideline, each hiring company will have its own table of conversions for measuring experience and education and you should go by that.
Training and education are important elements of this type of job and should be kept current and relevant to the position you are trying to get, or have already gotten. Advancement opportunities will present themselves to those people who have current training and are up-to-date with the latest technologies, techniques, and information.
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