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Fish Plant Workers   (NOC: 9463)

This unit group includes fish plant machine operators, who set up and operate machinery to process and package fish products, and fish plant cutters and cleaners, who cut, trim and clean fish by hand. Fish Plant Workers are employed in fish processing plants.

Alternate titles for this trade may include: fish cake maker, fish canning machine operator, fish cleaner and cutter, fish cutting machine operator, fish plant worker, shellfish processor, shellfish separator tender, shellfish shucker, trimmer - fish processing

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The following are some of the employment requirements for this trade:

  • Some secondary school education may be required.
  • On-the-job training is required.

Pattern of Interests   |   Skill Requirements


Pattern of Interests

The code determined by the results of your answers to the Interest Inventory questionnaire. Each possibility has a 3 letter variation that assesses the degree and range of your interests along Directive, Innovative, Methodical, Objective, and Social criteria variables.

Innovative

Innovative interest in adjusting machinery to operate properly

Methodical

Methodical interest in comparing information to make sure products and packaging conform to company standards; and in recording production information such as quantities, weights, dates and types of products

Objective

Objective interest in operating machines that process and package fish products

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Skill Requirements

Below are Essential Skill categories and how they correspond to this occupation. This section will help you identify occupations where you have a good chance of succeeding. It can also help you see which Skills you may need to improve. Click on the Summary Analysis link above to view a complete analysis of how your Skills measure up to this occupation. This feature is only available for those Users that are logged in and have completed the self assessment component.

The most important Essential Skills for this trade are:

  • Numeracy
  • Oral Communication
  • Working with Others


1. 

Reading Text

 Desired Skill Level Range: 1-3
  Fish plant workers may:
  • Read logbook information to check what happened during prior shifts or verify information for accuracy. (daily)
  • Read production sheets indicating tasks to be completed that day.
  • Read safety information on machinery.
  • Read memos announcing changes in the company's policies or procedures. (monthly)
  • Refer to a manual for specific information, such as how to evaluate canning quality. (occasionally)
 

2. 

Document Use

 Desired Skill Level Range: 1-2
  Fish plant workers:
  • Read work schedules to locate shift information.
  • Complete forms such as time sheets and production forms such as thermal processing records which show processing times, temperatures and identification codes. (daily)
  • Read packaging specifications for a variety of products.
  • Read safety and health signs posted at the workplace, such as reminders to use foot and hand dip troughs when moving from room to room. (daily)
  • Scan eight or more product labels to identify the correct one to attach to each box of fish.
  • Enter the name of species, weight category and total weight of fish on rack tally sheets and on tote tags attached to containers of fish unloaded from boats.
  • Refer to pictures and diagrams illustrating fish species and how to cut them.
  • May enter information into logbooks regarding use of equipment and cooking procedures, such as the temperature and pressure of the retort, readings from chlorinated water samples taken after each cook and reasons for production delays.
  • Read computer generated graphs showing temperatures and lengths of cooking times.
 

3. 

Writing

 Desired Skill Level Range: 1
  Fish plant workers may:
  • Complete accident reports, for example, when they cut themselves.
  • Write in a logbook a brief description of problems that were encountered during the shift.
  • Enter comments on thermal processing record forms to keep on file for inspection or in case batches are recalled.
  • Enter words on tote tags attached to totes or containers of fish, such as species, size categories, total or net weights and names of boats.
  • Complete shipping sheets, consisting of the names of workers on the line who processed products, names of wholesaler companies and types of fish.
 

4. 

Numeracy

 Desired Skill Level Range: 1-3
  Note: This is an important skill
  Fish Plant Workers:
  • Weigh baskets and racks of fish, to sort them into weight ranges and by fish types. (measurement and calculation math), (1)
  • Measure the volume of bleach compounds used for sterilization of cans and the time a batch of product has been cooked. (measurement and calculation math), (1)
  • Monitor computer readouts of average recovery per fish (i.e. amount used minus the waste). the average recovery should be 71
  • Of the total weight of the fish for sole or 33
  • Of the total weight for salmon fillets. (data analysis math), (1)
  • Estimate how long to dip each tray in the ice water to glaze the fish. if the tray is not immersed long enough the fish will not be evenly glazed. (numerical estimation), (1)
  • May prepare bills and calculate taxes for customers, based on the weight of the fish. (money math), (2), (daily)
  • Weigh the tote and pallet to arrive at the tare weight (weight of receptacle), weigh the tote filled with fish, and calculate the net weight of fish. (measurement and calculation math), (2)
  • Estimate how many pouch containers can be filled with a certain amount of fish, given the weight of the fish, the variety of pouch sizes and the percentage of shrinkage during processing. (numerical estimation), (2)
  • Calculate how many pounds of fish to send down production lines to end up with correct weights at the end of the line, considering percentages of waste. (measurement and calculation math), (3)
 

5. 

Oral Communication

 Desired Skill Level Range: 1-2
  Note: This is an important skill
  Fish plant workers:
  • May shout instructions down the line.
  • Receive instructions from co-workers, such as when to move materials with the forklift.
  • Co-ordinate tasks with co-workers, such as positioning equipment and lifting and moving racks and boxes of fish.
  • Discuss equipment and machinery problems with maintenance staff and discuss chlorination of water with quality control staff.
  • Receive work assignments from supervisors and charge hands and discuss with them production goals and changes in schedules. (daily)
  • May talk with fishermen to discuss how and when to unload their fish.
  • May explain rates and services to customers.
  • May participate in group discussions attended by production crews to discuss safety, procedures and goals, and may attend meetings with fishery inspectors to review evaluations of the plant's procedures and facilities.
 

6. 

Problem Solving

 Desired Skill Level Range: 1-2
  Fish plant workers:
  • Recook entire batches of fish if the retort is shut down too early or all the air has not been let out of the retort. failure to recook the entire batch will lead to the product not passing quality control.
  • May encounter power outages while a cook is in progress. they shut down valves to keep the pressure up or they seek assistance.
  • May find that fish has been placed incorrectly for smoking and must be repositioned before the batch is ruined.
  • May encounter faulty fish-sorting sensors. they must test and readjust the sensors to sort fish properly.
 

7. 

Decision Making

 Desired Skill Level Range: 1-2
  Fish plant workers:
  • Make quality decisions about the fish being cut, such as whether they are the right species and if they are too soft or bruised to be used.
  • Decide when to contact maintenance about problems with equipment or machine breakdowns.
  • Decide which of several conveyor belts to throw fish on in order to keep workers on all the production lines busy.
  • Decide if more skin and bone needs to be removed from fillets before canning.
  • May decide when to turn off the retort. accuracy is important to avoid having to recook batches.
 

8. 

Job Task Planning

 Desired Skill Level Range: 2
  Fish plant workers' schedules are set by supervisors, with work loads depending on how much fish the suppliers have brought in and how many orders there are to fill for the day. Tasks may be varied, such as operating the forklift or working on the assembly lines. Fish plant workers may have to adjust their work schedules when equipment breaks down or when rush orders arrive. Although they have little control over the reorganization of the schedule, they do short term planning to coordinate their work effectively with others on assembly lines. They may also have to plan the sequencing of activities, such as loading smokers and retorts.
 

9. 

Finding Information

 Desired Skill Level Range: 1-2
  Fish plant workers may:
  • Refer to posters and charts outlining the characteristics of various species of fish.
  • Consult the maintenance department for information about equipment or the quality control department for information about production standards.
  • Ask supervisors for details about procedures and schedules.
  • Refer to shipping sheets if customers make complaints about orders.
 

10. 

Computer Use

 Desired Skill Level Range: 1
  Fish plant workers:
  • May program a computerized weighing machine with various codes pertaining to different types of fish.
  • May use computer numeric control (cnc) to adjust the speed of conveyors and the number of units processed.
 

11. 

Critical Thinking

 Desired Skill Level Range: N/A
 
 

12. 

Use of Memory

 Desired Skill Level Range: N/A
  Fish Plant Workers:
  • Remember different grades of fish and how to recognize different species of fish by colour, eyes, size and shape.
  • Remember a variety of procedures for cleaning, cutting, glazing and packing fish.
  • Remember the order of steps when operating thermal processing equipment and when making adjustments to machines or turning them off.
  • Remember how problems with equipment have been fixed in the past.
 

13. 

Working with Others

 Desired Skill Level Range: N/A
  Note: This is an important skill
 

Fish plant workers work independently as part of assembly teams, with each person responsible for certain parts of the process. they may work with a partner, with one cooking and the other filling pouches. they often co-ordinate their tasks with others, such as when operating winches to lift racks and lower them into ice water, filling boxes of glazed fish or moving and weighing boxes.
 

14. 

Continuous Learning

 Desired Skill Level Range: N/A
 

Fish plant workers may learn how to operate new equipment, such as forklifts, or take courses on topics such as thermal processing, container evaluation or first aid.
 

15. 

Other Information

 Desired Skill Level Range: N/A
 

Most fish plant workers stand all day to clean, sort and pack fish, although some sit in front of their machines. they may also walk from area to area to complete various stages of the process, bend over machines to get pouches out of storage or sit to operate forklifts.

The fish plant workers interviewed felt that fish plant workers should be efficient, quality oriented, friendly and have good concentration. they should be willing to learn and to stand in cold and wet conditions all day.

Changes which may affect the essential skills used by these workers in the future include new equipment technologies and the need for fish processing plants to diversify their products and services to stay in business in light of the growing shortage of fish. workers may have to learn new skills to adapt to new product lines, increasing the requirement for continuous learning.
 

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