Stockperson Training Videos Give Pork Producers Head Start in Training Swine Barn Workers

A series of over 100 videos and printed resources produced by the Canadian Pork Council is helping pork producers get a head start in training new swine barn workers. An initiative under which the Canadian Pork Council, in collaboration with the provincial pork organizations, producers and other pork sector experts from across Canada developed over 100 training resources for swine farm stockpersons will be among the topics discussed as part of Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2022 next month in Saskatoon.

Mark Fynn, the training resources coordinator with the Canadian Pork Council, explains teams of subject experts were brought together to provide information for the production of videos and printed resources covering 10 topics including biosecurity, humane transport and husbandry practices that can be used to train new workers.

Clip-Mark Fynn-Canadian Pork Council:

Being able to see the task in the videos and best practices that we outline before jumping into the hands-on training can help some individuals learn and understand the importance of the task better ahead of being expected to do it.Not to say it replaces hands-on training.

By no means does it replace hands-on training but it provides a nice orientation to the task before a barn worker is expected to do the task or see it first hand.The other thing is the training is really focussed on best practices and that's why we brought in all those industry experts.So, we're providing farms a bunch of high-quality resources they can choose from to supplement their existing training programs at their choice.

These resources provide additional opportunity to standardise training across the farm and across the sector as a whole as well and ensure everyone is receiving top notch training.In addition, workers that receive good training tend to want to stick around longer so there may be a benefit to worker retention as well.

Fynn notes these resources will be primarily of interest to pork producers and swine barn workers and can be accessed through the various provincial pork organizations.