SQF Edition 10 places greater emphasis on employee competency and on demonstrating that training is effective—not simply that it was completed. As organizations prepare to implement the updated code, many are taking a closer look at how training aligns with the responsibilities employees perform every day.
At the same time, high turnover, recruitment challenges, and experienced employees reaching retirement age are making it harder to build and retain a workforce with the knowledge and experience needed to produce safe food. When employees lack role-specific knowledge, organizations face a greater risk of safety incidents, inconsistent execution, longer onboarding, and the loss of critical institutional knowledge.
This session, sponsored by WorkForge, explored how role-based learning supports the competency expectations in SQF Edition 10 while helping manufacturers build a safer, more knowledgeable workforce. Backed by industry research and real-world experience, this session shared practical strategies for improving onboarding, reducing turnover, strengthening food safety performance, and developing clear career pathways that keep valuable knowledge in your organization.
Our speakers, Laura Dunn Nelson, Global Food Safety Consultant at Culture Strategies Group, and Kristie Grzywinski, Technical Director at SQFI, discussed:
- How SQF Edition 10 strengthens expectations around training
- The role of role-based learning in developing safer and more capable teams
- Why investing in workforce development is a critical component of an effective food safety strategy
