Entry Level Qualification 

10

Career Fields 

Agriculture & Food Science

For Specially Abled 

Career Entrance Exam 

BHU UET, CUET UG, ICAR UG

About Career 

As a Food Processing Technician, you will be responsible for processing various food items and raw ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, and other seafood items either manually or with the help of machines or processing plants. You will be processing these food items for making processed food items. Food Processing means converting raw food items into other forms of food items.

Now you must be wondering what Processed Food is

Processed foods are those food items that undergo mechanical or chemical operations to change or preserve them. Processing food items means converting any kind of raw ingredients such as fruits and vegetables into pickles, jam, ketchup, juice, squash, etc. On the other hand, preserving food items means freezing or drying any type of fruit and vegetables to preserve the nutrients and freshness of that food item.

Now let us understand what Food Processing is

Food Processing is the process of converting raw agricultural and non-agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables, and seafood into other forms of food items. For Example, converting apples into apple jam apple juice, or apple squash by processing apples either manually or with the help of processing plants. Similarly, processing fish and seafood for achieving high quality and high quantity of products as well as preserving them by maintaining nutrients and freshness of fish.

What will you do as a Food Processing Technician?

As a Food Processing Technician, you will be processing food items for making some or all of the following food items:

1. You will be processing different types of fruits and vegetables such as Mango, Lemon, Ginger, Carrot, and Radish, etc. for making pickles, commonly known as Achaar. You will be selecting the fruits and vegetables and then will be peeling & chopping them. After which you will be adding other necessary ingredients like spices, oil, and chemicals for preserving pickles.

2. You will be responsible for preparing squash and juice from fruits by the process of receiving and then checking raw material quality, sorting fruits, extracting juice from fruits, purifying them, filtering the juice, and then sampling it for quality analysis.

3. You will be involved in processing fruits and vegetables by extracting their juice and will be further processing that juice for making Jam, Jelly, and Ketchup. Here again, you will be responsible for selecting the fruits and vegetables and then will be peeling & chopping them. You will be processing the chopped fruits and vegetables by cooking them and by adding other necessary ingredients like spices, sugar, honey, flavors, etc.

4. You will be involved in the process of extraction of juice from fruits by crushing the membranes of fruits and then processing the extracted juice to make a thick paste called fruit pulp.

5. You will be responsible for processing fish and seafood to achieve high quality and high quantity of products as well as preserving them by maintaining nutrients and freshness of fish.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

As a Food Processing Technician, you will be engaged with one or more of the following roles and responsibilities:

1. You will be required to manage the inventory and order beverages, food, supplies, and other equipment as per the requirement.

2. You will be required to check the stability or maturity of raw materials such as fruits and vegetables and other ingredients before processing them. 

3. You will be required to discover new food recipes and find alternative sources of specific food items.

4. You will be required to research and develop ways/techniques to make processed and packaged food products more nutritious, healthy, and safe for human consumption.

5. You will be required to research and develop methods to improve certain aspects of foods like flavor, color, texture, and nutritional value.

6. You will be required to test different kinds of food samples for yeast, bacteria, and any other contaminants that may be harmful.

7. You will be required to ensure that all the food manufacturing processes conform to industry standards and government regulations.

Career Entry Pathway 

Class 5 with any subject – Obtain NSQF Level 2 in Industrial Production Worker – Food Processing.

After completing class 5 with any subject, you may obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 2 in Industrial Production Worker – Food Processing from any vocational institution or other similar institutions. The total number of training hours is 240 hours. You need to be 18 years of age to obtain this certificate.

After completing class 8 with any subject, you may obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 4 in Multi-Skill Technician - Food Processing from any vocational institution or other similar institutions. The total number of training hours is 600 hours. You need to be 18 years of age to obtain this certificate.

After completing class 5 with any subject, you may obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 4 in Fish and Sea Food Processing Technician from any vocational institution or other similar institutions. The total number of training hours is 240 hours. You need to be 18 years of age to obtain this certificate.

After completing class 8 with any subject, you may obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 4 in Pickle Making Technician from any vocational institution or other similar institutions. The total number of training hours is 240 hours. You need to be 18 years of age to obtain this certificate.

After completing class 8 with any subject, you may obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 4 in Squash and Juice Processing Technician from any vocational institution or other similar institutions. The total number of training hours is 240 hours. You need to be 18 years of age to obtain this certificate.

After completing class 8 with any subject, you may obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 4 in Jam, Jelly, and Ketchup Processing Technician from any vocational institution or other similar institutions. The total number of training hours is 240 hours. You need to be 18 years of age to obtain this certificate.

After completing class 8 with any subject, you may obtain NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) Level 4 in Fruit Pulp Processing Technician from any vocational institution or other similar institutions. The total number of training hours is 240 hours. You need to be 18 years of age to obtain this certificate.

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After completing class 12, you can apply for a Bachelor's degree in vocational education (B.Voc.) in Food Processing and Management from any vocational institute or other similar institutes. The duration of this course is 3 years.

Required Qualification & Competencies 

After completing Class 5, you may obtain NSQF Level 2 in Industrial Production Worker – Food Processing or may obtain NSQF Level 4 in Fish and Sea Food Processing Technician. Alternatively, if you have completed Class 8, then you may:

1. Obtain NSQF Level 4 in Multi-Skill Technician - Food Processing.

2. Obtain Work Experience of 2-3 years in a pickle-making unit, and then obtain NSQF Level 4 in Pickle Making Technician.

3. Obtain Work Experience of 2-3 years in a Squash or Juice-making unit, and then obtain NSQF Level 4 in Squash and Juice Processing Technician.

4. Obtain Work Experience of 2-3 years in Fruit and Vegetable Processing, and then obtain NSQF Level 4 in Jam, Jelly, and Ketchup Processing Technician.

5. Obtain Work Experience of 2-3 years in a Food Processing Unit, and then obtain NSQF Level 4 in Fruit Pulp Processing Technician.
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Competencies Required

Interest

1. Enterprising: You should have an interest in Enterprising Occupations. Enterprising occupations involve taking initiative, initiating actions, and planning to achieve goals, often business goals. These involve gathering resources and leading people to get things done. These require decision-making, risk-taking, and action orientation.

2. Conventional: You should have interests in Conventional Occupations. Conventional occupations involve repetitive and routine tasks as well as fixed processes or procedures for getting things done. These occupations involve working more with data, systems, and procedures and less with ideas or creativity.

3. Realistic: You should have an interest in Realistic Occupations. Realistic occupations involve more practical and hands-on activities than paperwork or office work. Realistic occupations often involve physical activities for getting things done using various tools and equipment. 

Knowledge

1. Food Preparation: Knowledge of various processes, methods, techniques, and tools for preparing food dishes and serving.

2. Culinary Art and Related: Specialized knowledge about food ingredients, food preparation processes, food serving and presentation techniques, etc. This includes knowledge about wines, liquors, and other beverages.

Skills

1. Coordination: Skills in working together with other people to get things done.

2. Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, understanding the points being made by others, asking questions, etc.

3. Service Orientation: Skills in or a keen interest in helping and assisting people.

4. Instruction: Skills in training others how to do something.

5. Reading Comprehension: Skills in understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

6. Critical Thinking: Skills in the analysis of complex situations, using logic and reasoning to understand the situations and take appropriate actions or make interpretations and inferences.

Abilities

1. Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

2. Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

3. Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

4. Speech and Language Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech and language of another person.

5. Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

6. Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.

7. Inter-Personal: The ability to build and maintain good relationships with others at workplaces and elsewhere.

​​​​​​​Personality

1. You are always or mostly organized in your day-to-day life and activities.

2. You are always or mostly helpful to others.

3. You are always imaginative in most situations.

4. You are fun-loving; you enjoy interacting with people and enjoying yourself.

Career - Job Opportunities & Profiles 

Typically, you will start your career as an Industrial Production Worker or as a helper and then work your way up as you gain experience and perfect your specialization. You may find work opportunities in various Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises. You may also start your own business as a Pickle Maker, Jam Maker, Squash Maker, Juice Maker, Ketchup Maker, Fish, and Seafood processor, etc. 

You may find job opportunities with: Nestle India Ltd., Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd., ITC Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Del Monte, Minute Maid, Patanjali Ayurveda, Paper Boat, Tropicana Products, MTR Foods, MambalamIyers Food Products, Soul Pickles., etc.

Specialisation Tracks In This Career

1. Pickle Making Technician

As a Pickle Making Technician, you will be involved in the process of preparing different types of pickles in manual and machine-operated units. You will be making various types of pickles from fruits and vegetables such as lemon, mango, ginger, etc.

2. Squash and Juice Processing Technician

As a Squash and Juice Processing Technician, you will be responsible for preparing squash and juice from fruits by the process of receiving and then checking raw material quality, sorting fruits, extracting juice from fruits, pasteurizing, filtering, sampling for quality analysis, etc.

3. Jam, Jelly, and Ketchup Processing Technician

As a Jam, Jelly, and Ketchup Processing Technician, you will be involved in processing fruits and vegetables by extracting their juice and will further process that juice for making Jam, Jelly, and Ketchup.

4. Fruit Pulp Processing Technician

As a Fruit Pulp Processing Technician, you will be involved in the process of extraction of juice from fruits by crushing the membranes of fruits. You will be responsible for processing the extracted juice to make a thick paste called fruit pulp.

5. Industrial Production Worker- Food Processing

As an Industrial Production Worker- Food Processing, you will be involved in the process of performing a limited range of tasks which include arranging equipment on the production line, monitoring production, cleaning up equipment and work station, etc. as per instructions and specifications provided by the supervisor.

6. Multi-Skill Technician – Food Processing

As a Multi-Skill Technician – Food Processing, you will be required to have multiple skills in food processing such as pickle making, jam making, jelly making, ketchup making, squash making, and baked goods which are suitable for reselling by Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.

7. Fish and Sea Food Processing Technician

As a Fish and Sea Food Processing Technician, you will be responsible for processing fish and seafood to achieve high quality and high quantity of products along with maintaining food safety and hygiene at the workplace.

Career Growth

In this career, there is no growth as such, except that your earnings may grow over some time.  From a worker, you can grow to become a supervisory staff, or you can be an entrepreneur by employing a few workers to make processed food items.

Salary Offered  

1. Salaries vary according to job profiles and the kind of facilities you get to work at.

2. In entry-level jobs: You may expect to get about Rs. 8,000 – 15,000 per month.

3. Salaries increase with your work experience and as you get promoted.

4. In junior-level roles, you can expect to earn about Rs. 10,000 – 25,000 or more per month.

5. In mid-level jobs, with 6-12 years of work experience, you may expect to get about Rs. 18,000 – 40,000 per month.

6. In senior-level jobs, with 12-15 years of work experience, you may expect to get about Rs. 30,000 - 70,000 per month or even more.

7. Alternatively, you may also set up your own business like Pickle Maker, Jam Maker, Squash Maker, etc. Initially, you may have to struggle, but once your business grows, you can make a lot of money. You may make Rs. 50,000 a month.

Monthly Earnings In Indian Rupee

1. Entry level: 0 - 2 years of work experience

2. Junior Level: From 1 to 12 years of work experience

3. Mid-Level: From 5 to 20+ years of work experience

4. Senior Level: From 10 to 25+ years of work experience (there could be exceptions in some high-end technical, financial, engineering, creative, management, sports, and other careers; also shortly, people will reach these levels much faster in many careers and some careers, these levels will have no meaning as those careers will be completely tech skill driven such as even now, there is almost no level in a Cyber Security Expert’s job)

Famous Personalities 

Not Available

Work Activities 

As a Food Processing Technician, you will be involved in the following work activities:

1. Getting Information and learning: Observing, hearing, reading, using computers, or otherwise obtaining information and learning from it.

2. Decision-making and problem-solving: Analysis of data and information; evaluation of alternative decisions and results of decisions; making the right decisions and solving problems.

3. Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates: Guiding, Directing, and Motivating co-workers to work to achieve specific goals; enabling and facilitating others to perform tasks effectively; addressing issues and solving problems to help people perform well

4. Identifying objects, actions, and events: Identifying various characteristics of objects; observing and understanding actions and events; understanding changes in actions and events.

5. Communicating with co-workers and others: Communicating with people in writing, verbally or otherwise inside your workplace, and various other people who have professional relationships with your place of work, including vendors, government officials, etc., or with people at large.

6. Coaching and developing: Identifying training and professional development needs of others; coaching and training them to develop skills to perform tasks and improve performance.

7. Working directly with people: Working directly with people to offer them products and services, providing assistance, etc.

8. Working in a team: Working in a team of people; developing a team; and maintaining professional relationships among team members.