Food & Beverage Processing Project

Menu: Click across the green arrows to view active and completed project stages. Consultation takes place at every stage of the project.

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The food and beverage industry has experienced many key changes since 2011. These range from regulatory changes affecting food safety and manufacturing processes to trends in what consumers want to eat and drink.Consultation with industry during 2018 indicated a need to update current qualifications to incorporate new skills and knowledge, particularly in relation to:Traceability and food fraud: Regulations have changed in response to an increasing demand to know where a product has come from and what is in it. Workers are required to identify and assess risk, to understand and use new technologies such as block chain processes. An ability to detect and manage contaminated products and to follow appropriate procedures is increasingly important.Contamination: This includes biological contamination (e.g. salmonella and listeria); physical contamination (e.g. needles, bandages, hairs); and chemical contamination (e.g. pesticides, cleaning chemicals, mercury). An increase in skills and knowledge required to manage contamination of food and beverage can be achieved through enhancing the assessment requirements in units related to product and equipment handling, transporting, processing, packaging, controlling and tracking stock, products and equipment.Allergens: There has been an increasing level of regulation relating to allergens. The knowledge and skills related to risk management and mandatory product labelling have become critical skills for people producing food and beverage products for consumption by humans and animals.Recall procedures: Statistics reported by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) indicate that the number of food and beverage recalls has increased over the past five years. All workers in this industry are required to have knowledge of the regulations, reasons and preventative actions involved.Sustainable work practices and efficient energy consumption: The food and beverage manufacturing industry is expected to keep up with modern recycling and waste-minimisation practices, sustainable manufacturing processes and responsible consumption of energy.Work Health and Safety: All units need to be reviewed to ensure they meet the current regulations, higher standards and profile of working safely and maintaining a healthy work environment.Automated and digitalised manufacturing processes: Many tasks are now more automated and require skills in operating digitalised screens and equipment will be reviewed and updated.The Australian Industry Skills Committee (AISC) approved this project, out of the 2019-2022 IRC Skills Forecast and Proposed Schedule of Work.Skills Impact and the Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical Industry Reference Committee (IRC) will manage this project, consistent with the 2012 Standards for Training Package Development.

Download Project Proposal (see page 22)

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A lot has changed in the food and beverage processing world in the past decade. Consumers want healthy, sustainable, organic and allergen-free foods. This is driving new innovations in the sector. Today there are more options than ever before. Consumers also care more about where their food comes from, what is in it and how it is packaged. Industry is responding to the needs of the consumer, using new technologies and systems to improve the quality and diversity of products.The industry now has a greater need for skills and knowledge about traceability, risk management, food fraud, contamination, allergens, recall procedures, sustainability, health and safety, and automation and digitalised manufacturing. These skills are required across the production chain, for those on the processing line, through to labelling, packaging and bottling.

Project Scope

This project will review the Certificate I, II and III in Food Processing and Certificate II and III in Food Processing (Sales) and the units of competency within them. This review will consider many key changes in the industry, from regulatory changes affecting food safety and manufacturing processes to trends in what consumers want to eat and drink.Scroll down to view the qualifications and units proposed for review. There is the option to provide initial feedback on these.

“Australian businesses are among the most innovative in the world, and together with our world-class scientists, can deliver growth in the food and agribusiness sector amid unprecedented global change. Less predictable growing conditions, increasingly global value chains and customers who demand healthier, more convenient and traceable foods are driving businesses to new ways of operating. Advances are already being made through the use of blockchain technology and the development of labels that change colour with temperature or time, or are programmed to release preservatives,” Dr Martin Cole, Deputy Director of CSIRO Agriculture and Food.

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Relevant Occupations

There are a variety of job roles in the industry and job titles are becoming more diverse and situation specific as job functions change through industry development. Job roles that can be customised to suit specific industries that relate to the qualifications include:

Food and Drink Packaging Worker / Supervisor
Food and Drink Production Worker / Technician / Supervisor
Food Services Sales Assistant / Salesperson / Account Manager
Grocery Processing Operator
Food Safety Systems Officer
Production Line Supervisor
Food Testing Manager
Pharmaceutical Production Operator.

Timeline

Dates are still being confirmed as part of the project scoping process. Outlined below is an initial indication of the time frames for each project stage.June-September 2019 Initial scopingSeptember 2019-January 2020 Development of draft qualifications, skill sets and unitsFebruary – March 2020 Drafts available for broad consultation (they were made available for additional feedback from June – August)November – December 2020 Validation of final draftsJanuary/February 2021 Finalisation of Training Package componentsFebruary/March 2021 Independent Quality Assurance, and Edit and Equity review of Training Package componentsApril 2021 IRC consideration for sign-off and submission for endorsement (along with components from Flour Milling, High Volume Production Baking and FDF updates)

Project Team

Danni McDonald	Industry Skills Standards Manager, Skills Impact [email protected]
Julie Stratford	Industry Engagement Manager, Skills Impact [email protected]
Jenni Oldfield	Industry Skills Standards Contractor

Stakeholder Consultation Process

A list of key stakeholder organisations has been identified for this project but we invite any interested members of the food and beverage manufacturing and processing industry to get involved.Revised qualifications, skill sets and units will be drafted in consultation with Subject Matter Experts and their networks throughout 2019. Draft materials will be available for feedback towards the end of this year and again for validation in May 2020. We will publish draft materials online and will hold workshops around Australia, inviting people to comment on the proposed changesIt is important that training focuses on providing a skilled and flexible workforce for the future. These qualifications, skill sets and units need to reflect real work practices. Skills Impact is interested in your views on the draft qualifications, skill sets and units and we invite you to provide comments and feedback at any stage during the project. If you are aware of another organisation that you think should be invited to participate, please contact the project team at Skills Impact.Please register your interest in project updates and consultation opportunities by following the newsletter subscription link below. Alternatively, contact the project manager, Danni on 03 9321 3526 or [email protected].The Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical Industry Reference Committee (IRC) will oversee this project, as part of their responsibilities to support engagement with the sector, and to ensure projects meet industry stakeholder needs.

Qualifications and Units

Below is a list of the qualifications and units that will be reviewed.We are collecting initial feedback on these documents via our online Feedback Hub. Your feedback will help us in the review and development process. Your comments will remain anonymous. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. The feedback hub is also moderated to avoid misuse. For further details, see our Moderation Policy.

Select the qualification or unit you would like to review.
You will be asked to register or login (for a free account). Follow the prompts.
Once logged in, you will be able to post feedback directly on the document.
Download user instructions

Prefer to email us your feedback? You can email your feedback to [email protected] Click here to download the documents in Microsoft Word format.

Qualifications

Units - Beverages

Units - Cheese

Units - Confectionery

Units - Dairy processing

Units - Egg

Units - Fruit and vegetables

Units - Food safety

Units - Grocery and product supplies

Units - Grain processing

Units - Operational

Units - Production baking

Units - People, planning and logistics

Units - Retail baking

FBPRBK1001 Finish products

Units - Sugar milling

FBPSUG2022 Operate a waste water treatment system

Units - Technical

Units - Work health and safety

Units - Wine Operations

FBPWIN2002 Communicate wine industry information

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These days people want to know exactly where their food comes from, how it’s packaged and what’s in it. In response, the food and beverage processing industry is adopting innovations to improve traceability, control contaminants, and further automate processes.As a result of these changes and more, the content and design of the food processing qualifications are currently being reviewed. The qualifications were last updated in 2011-2012. Since then, many of the tasks and skills required of the food processing workforce have changed due to new food safety regulations, manufacturing processes and consumer demands.Work is underway to implement feedback received from Subject Matter Experts as part of the initial development phase. Draft qualifications and units of competency will be available in early 2020 for all stakeholders to view and provide feedback, until the end of February 2020. The draft documents will be available on this webpage for comment (under the ‘Drafts Available’ menu above). Face-to-face consultation workshops will also be held around Australia.

Download project flyer

Consultation Workshops - Registrations Open!

The workshops give stakeholders an opportunity to discuss the draft skills standards with the Skills Impact team. Webinar sessions are planned for those unable to attend in person. During these workshops we will be presenting drafts of the documents to discuss whether the proposed changes meet the needs of industry and address required skills for food processing operators in the workplace, particularly around issues relating for traceability and allergens.Registrations for these workshops are now open. Please feel free to register for a workshop near you by clicking the corresponding link.

Face-to-face consultation workshops

Perth WA – Tue 4 Feb 2020, 11am – 2pm (AWST) – Register hereAdelaide SA – Wed 5 Feb 2020, 11am – 2pm (ACDT) – Register hereBrisbane QLD – Tue 11 Feb 2020, 10am – 1pm (AEST) – Register hereMelbourne (north) VIC – Thu 13 Feb 2020, 11am – 2pm (AEDT) – Register hereDandenong VIC – Mon 17 Feb 2020, 11am – 2pm (AEDT) – Register hereDevonport TAS – Wed 26 Feb 2020, 11am – 2pm (AEDT) – Register hereBallarat VIC – Fri 28 Feb 2020, 11am – 2pm (AEDT) – Register hereGriffith NSW – Thurs 19 March 2020, 10am – 1pm (AEDT) – Register hereSydney (west) NSW – Fri 20 March, 10am – 1pm (AEDT) – Register here

Consultation webinars

Thu 6 Feb 2020, 1 – 3pm (AEDT) – Register hereMon 24 Feb 2020, 1 – 3pm (AEDT) – Register here

Consultation to date

Subject Matter Experts are being engaged to review the units of competency that are included within the Certificates I, II and III in Food Processing, and Food Processing (Sales) qualifications.As one of the starting points for project consultation, the IRC also supported a survey which went to Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) who have the qualifications on scope, to get a better understanding of how the qualifications are currently being delivered. The results from this survey has been helpful in identifying which Food and Beverage specialty areas were most commonly covered during delivery.Respondents were also encouraged to give feedback on the strengths of the qualifications, as well as provide input on how the qualifications could be improved as part of this review. Other suggestions included supporting micro credentialing through the development of skill sets to help target specific training needs.Further information about the survey and a summary of its results can be viewed in the following report. Download RTO Survey Report

Documents under review

The responses gathered in this survey have helped to direct the next steps in the project. Units of competency being reviewed have been grouped into common sectors that were identified in the survey. Subject Matter Experts are being engaged for each group. Meetings with these experts will take place during September 2019 to identify the current and future skill needs in their specialist sectors, and check where these are addressed in units of competency. Where gaps exist, units may be changed to meet these needs or additional units developed.Throughout September and until 25 October 2019, we invited your initial feedback on the current units of competency. Thank you to those that provided feedback. Your feedback will help us in the review and development process. Revised drafts of the reviewed documents will become available for broad consideration and feedback in February 2020 (under the ‘Drafts Available’ menu above).If you would still like to provide comment on the documents. You are welcome to email [email protected] Click here to download the documents in Microsoft Word format.

Note for RTOs

Many trainers have been asking why qualifications still contain the old FDF units. A project is underway to update these to the revised FBP units. Click through to read more and be involved in this process.

Qualifications

General units (Equipment & maintenance / food safety / health & safety / packaging)

Allergens / Traceability

FBPOPR3001 Control contaminants and allergens in the workplace

Baking / Production Baking

Beverages

Cheese / Dairy Processing

Confectionery / Chocolate

Egg / Fruits & veg & Nuts

Fats and Oils

Flour / Grains / Milling

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Consumer trends play a fundamental role in the food and beverage processing sector, inspiring innovations and shifting the way job roles are performed. Over the past ten years, increased interest in the origin, contents, and packaging of food, has driven industry to develop methods for improving traceability, automation, and contaminant control. It is important that these changes in job roles and practices are captured in the skills standards used by industry, which have not been updated since 2011-2012.Thank you to those who provided feedback on the draft qualifications, skill sets and units of competency that were made available on this webpage for feedback. They were first made available from 4 February – 29 March 2020. During this time, many stakeholders were affected by the impacts of bushfires and COVID-19, and we recognise this may have affected their ability to provide feedback. Feedback that was received also highlighted the need to make further major changes to some qualifications, skill sets and units. As a result, a second round of consultation took place from 24 June – 9 August 2020, to allow more time for stakeholders to provide their feedback.

Download project flyer

Proposed documents and changes requiring additional feedback during this second draft phase included:

Updated drafts for Certificate I, II & III in Food Processing
Two additional new skill sets for the introduction and induction to food processing
New food-specific Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) units
New edible oils units
Proposed merger of a cleaning and a sanitising unit
Units initially flagged for deletion that have been reinstated
Units still proposed for deletion
Proposed updates in these units based on stakeholder feedback
Draft content for Companion Volume Implementation Guide.

For more information download the Workshop PackThis includes a Proposed Changes Handout with details of the changes; a copy of the slideshow used in the video below; and a copy of the Summary of Feedback, Responses and Actions document, which provides a rundown of comments made about the documents and how these have informed the proposed changes.

Note for RTOs

The below video provides additional information on the proposed second drafts. It does not include content such as information about Skills Impact or how Training Packages are developed – this information can be found in a previous video available here.

Please note: Not all units of competency in the scope of this project require feedback during this draft two consultation phase, so only documents requiring additional input are included. However, drafts of other documents are still available to view below should you wish to email through feedback on these documents. All documents in this project will be available for review again during Validation.

Significant Changes Required

Listed below are the draft qualifications, skill sets, and units that have underwent significant changes as a result of industry feedback and required further input. You can view all the documents as they were presented between 4 February – 29 March 2020 here. Further details of the changes and feedback sought are included in the Proposed Changes Handout

Qualifications

The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by clicking here.

Code and Title	Proposed Changes and Key Questions	Link
FBP1XX20 Certificate I in Food Processing	Qualification not deleted based on feedback from several stakeholders  Draft qualification available for comment. Core includes a food safety unit, so ‘Not equivalent’ to previous version.	View draft qualification
FBP20120 Certificate II in Food Processing	Merged with FBP20317 Certificate II in Food Processing (Sales)  Packaging rules refined – 5 core and 8 electives required to achieve the qualification. New AQF2 GMP unit added to core in response to feedback (FBPOPR2XX1 Follow procedures to maintain Good Manufacturing Practice in food processing)  Units added to elective bank	View draft qualification
FBP30120 Certificate III in Food Processing	Merged with FBP30617 Certificate III in Food Processing (Sales)  Packaging rules refined - 5 core and 8 electives required to achieve the qualification   New AQF3 GMP unit added to core in response to feedback (FBPOPR3X16 Apply Good Manufacturing Practice requirements in food processing)  Optional ‘Bottling and Packaging’ specialisation added  Optional ‘Distilling’ specialisation added.  Four new ‘OIL’ units developed to cover the processing of cold pressed olive oil (added to ‘Edible Oils’ specialisation)  Units added to ‘Stock Feed’ specialisation to cover the production of fish feed	View draft qualification

Skill Sets

Both of these skill sets have been developed in response to the previous round of feedback. Both are introductory. Combined they cover the Certificate I in Food Processing.

Code and Title	Link
FBPSSXXXX03 Food processing induction	View draft skill set
FBPSSXXXX04 Introduction to food processing	View draft skill set

New Units

This section includes brand new units that were not part of the first round of drafts. The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by clicking here.

Code and Title	Proposed Changes and Key Questions	Link
FBPOIL3XX9 Clean and mill olives	New unit developed in response to feedback on previous drafts.	View draft unit
FBPOIL3X10 Operate and monitor a malaxer	New unit developed in response to feedback on previous drafts.	View draft unit
FBPOIL3X11 Operate and monitor an olive oil separation process	New unit developed in response to feedback on previous drafts.	View draft unit
FBPOIL3X12 Operate and monitor storage of virgin olive oil	New unit developed in response to feedback on previous drafts.	View draft unit
FBPOPR2XX1 Follow procedures to maintain Good Manufacturing Practice in food processing	New unit developed in response to feedback on previous drafts.	View draft unit
FBPOPR2XX3 Clean and sanitise food processing equipment	This proposed unit merges FBPOPR2063 Clean equipment in place and FBPOPR2064 Clean and sanitise equipment. Feedback is sought on whether: The two original units duplicate skills and content, and therefore a single merged unit more suitably reflects the tasks in the workplace -OR- The skills covered in each original unit reflect separate tasks in the workplace, and the two separate units are required.	View draft unit
FBPOPR3X16 Apply Good Manufacturing Practice requirements in food processing	New unit developed in response to feedback on previous drafts.	View draft unit

Units No Longer Proposed for Deletion

This section includes units that were proposed for deletion in Draft 1 but have been reinstated and a draft created for this second draft consultation phase. The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by clicking here.

Code and Title	Proposed Changes and Key Questions	Link
FBPDPR3XX5 Operate and monitor a butter churning process	Was previously proposed for deletion – reinstated.	View draft unit
FBPDPR3XX6 Operate and monitor a butter oil process	Was previously proposed for deletion – reinstated.	View draft unit
FBPFAV2001X Apply hydro-cooling processes to fresh produce	Was previously proposed for deletion – reinstated.	View draft unit
FBPFAV3001X Conduct chemical wash for fresh produce	Was previously proposed for deletion – reinstated.	View draft unit
FBPFAV3002X Program fresh produce grading equipment	Was previously proposed for deletion – reinstated.	View draft unit
FBPGPS3XX1 Operate and monitor a creamed honey manufacture process	Was previously proposed for deletion – reinstated.	View draft unit

Revised Units

These units have had additional changes made to them and should be checked again by stakeholders before moving to Validation. The draft documents can be downloaded in Microsoft Word format by clicking here.

Code and Title	Proposed Changes and Key Questions	Link
FBPBEV3XX3 Operate and monitor a brewery fermentation process	No longer merged with FBPOPR2016 Operate a beer maturation process	View draft unit
FBPBEV3XX7 Operate and monitor a beer maturation process	No longer merged with FBPOPR2030 Operate a brewery fermentation process	View draft unit
FBPBPG3XX3 Operate and monitor a form, fill and seal process	AQF level in code updated to better match complexity of work task.	View draft unit
FBPBPG3XX5 Operate and monitor a high speed wrapping process	AQF level in code updated to better match complexity of work task	View draft unit
FBPFSY1001X Follow work procedures to maintain food safety	References to allergen management strengthened	View draft unit
FBPFSY2001 Implement the food safety program and procedures	References to allergen management strengthened	View draft unit
FBPFSY2XX1 Maintain food safety when loading, unloading and transporting food	References to allergens strengthened	View draft unit
FBPFSY3001X Monitor the implementation of food safety and quality programs	References to allergen management strengthened	View draft unit
FBPFSY3XX1 Control contaminants and allergens in food processing	Unit sector code and title updated to better match work task References to allergens strengthened	View draft unit
FBPFSY3XX2 Participate in traceability activities	References to allergens strengthened Title updated	View draft unit
FBPFSY5XX1 Develop an allergen management program	Restructured in line with feedback from SME	View draft unit
FBPFSY5XX2 Design a traceability system for food products	Title updated	View draft unit
FBPOPR2XX2 Carry out manual handling tasks	Unit code updated to reflect complexity of work task	View draft unit
FBPOPR3003X Identify dietary, cultural and religious considerations for food production	Unit title updated Emphasis on dietary conditions and reactions to allergens/anaphylaxis increased	View draft unit
FBPOPR3X17 Pre-process raw materials	AQF level in code updated to better match complexity of work task	View draft unit
FBPRBK1001 Finish products (Release 2)	Reference to ‘pallet knives’ removed from Assessment Conditions	View draft unit

Proposed for Deletion

These units of competency are proposed for deletion. Initially flagged due to low/no enrolments, the units have been raised with Subject Matter Experts to check if the skills/knowledge covered are still relevant. SME feedback indicated they are no longer required. Further feedback about the proposal to delete these units was sought.FBPBEV2001 Operate a deaeration, mixing and carbonation process FBPBEV2002 Manufacture roast and ground coffee FBPBEV2003 Operate an ice manufacturing process FBPCON2001 Examine raw ingredients used in confectionery FBPGPS2005 Operate a fractionation process FBPGPS2010 Operate a winterisation process FBPOPR2019 Fill and close product in cans FBPOPR2047 Operate a portion saw FBPOPR2049 Operate a reduction process FBPOPR2051 Operate a spreads production process

Implementing this training

We have had a few questions about implementation of the draft units, skill sets and qualifications. An implementation guide is being developed and we hope it answers some of these questions. The document linked below contains content that is proposed for inclusion in the FBP Food, Beverage & Pharmaceutical Training Package Companion Volume Implementation Guide. It includes information about:

Units covering food allergens
Units covering traceability
Target audiences for the Food Processing qualifications
Transitioning delivery for RTOs
How references to “batches” in Performance Evidence can be interpreted and assessed
Assessment conditions – relationships references.

Download the document here

Feedback was also sought on this document.

Minimal Revisions Required

Listed below are all the draft skill sets and units that did not require a 'draft 2' version. These were made available for broad stakeholder feedback from 4 February – 29 March 2020 and again from 24 June – 7 August 2020. They are still available to view on the Feedback Hub, including any comments made. All documents will be updated and made available for your input again during the 'validation' stage of the project.Further details of the changes and feedback that was sought for the qualifications and skill sets is included in the Proposed Changes Handout