Lab would address need for food processing workers

Walworth County food processing and packaging manufacturers need trained, skilled workers for open positions at their companies. These are family-supporting careers with solid pay and room for advancement.

Gateway currently doesn’t have a program to meet those needs - but is developing one that to train its students with the skills to enter those careers. Providing new lab space at the Elkhorn Campus for hands-on training in the food processing and packaging industry is part of the proposed remodeling and expansion work.

“Students would learn about food microbiology, food processing regulation, meat and poultry science, quality assurance, food and lab practices,” says Gateway Executive Vice President/Provost Zina Haywood. “The need for workers with these skills was indicated in a regional study of manufacturers, particularly in Walworth County.”