Representatives from H-E-B’s butcher division visited with members of the College of Agriculture and Human Sciences’ Cooperative Agricultural Research Center and Cooperative Extension Program to discuss the possibility of a collaboration between the company and our butcher certification course within The Rural Workforce Academy.

Meat scientist Lea Kinman, Ph.D., CEP Executive Associate Director Carolyn Williams, Ph.D., TRWA Workforce Specialist Laura Jones, and others hosted H-E-B’s Education and Workforce Program team. They discussed an essential pipeline plan for a certification track that would allow butcher apprentices to train here at the university and then find guaranteed work as a butcher within the company.

The meeting began with an introductory speech from CAHS Dean Gerard D’Souza, Ph.D., who reiterated the college’s tripartite mission to help the community and train students to excel professionally. “Food is central to our mission, the same as yours,” D’Souza stated. He reiterated that one of the college’s main ideas is to address human health through better eating and food nutrition.

Following the dean, Williams provided an overview of the extensive reach of CEP throughout the community. And the Executive Associate Director of CARC, Erdogan Memili, Ph.D., also discussed the various renowned talents within the research department and the possibility of growing the department further.

Then Laura Jones provided the H-E-B group information regarding TRWA, highlighting its impact and necessity in rural counties. The program offers free or reduced-cost education for eligible applicants who need work or are struggling to find employment.

Kinman then provided a presentation on the butcher certification course. It’s a three-year program that will help students understand a range of meat and meat products. They will learn the various techniques for processing high-quality meat, including cutting, preparing, packaging, and presenting the product. In addition to learning, the students will complete “off-the-job” training at H-E-B locations. By the end of the course, the students will understand the development of the meat industry, principles of butchery, knowledge associated with carcass by-products, food safety, quality control, hygiene, and customer service principles. The program will offer tried and true traditional methods and innovative techniques for a comprehensive education.

The H-E-B representatives were quite receptive to the idea. They were concerned about the length of the training program and whether it’d be too long before the students began working for them but were assured that students could train and learn on the job simultaneously.

The trip ended with a tour of the Meat Science Center and a promise to discuss the possibility of this collaboration further.