NWMPA Apprenticeship Program
Train The Next Generation of
Skilled Meat Cutters
A structured apprenticeship program that helps meat processors develop skilled employees and gives working meat cutters a paid path toward journey-level certification.
Available to eligible employers and employees in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah.
A REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP program FOR THE MEAT TRADE
A COMPLETE TRAINING PATH FOR WORKING SHOPS
- Paid On-The-Job Training
- Structured Related Instruction
- One-On-One Journeyworker Mentorship
- Documented Skill Assessments
- A Recongnized Credential at Completion
A better way to build skills
the trade cannot depend on informal training alone
Skilled meat cutters are retiring faster than they are being replaced.
Most shops train the way they always have — one person showing another, when there is time, with nothing written down. This program changes that. It gives your shop a complete, federally registered training system: the curriculum, the assessments, the recordkeeping, and the credential at the end. You bring the meat and the mentor. We bring the rest.
The NWMPA Journeyman Meat Cutter Apprenticeship is a federally registered program (DOL Reg. #2026-WA-141357) built for working meat cutters and the shops that employ them. It combines paid on-the-job training with structured classroom instruction across two phases — 4,000 hours of hands-on work and 288 hours of related instruction, organized into 15 sections.
Phase 1 leads to a Certificate in Meat Cutting / Custom & Retail Operations.
Phase 2 completes the journey to full journey-level certification.
choose your path
how can the apprenticeship program help you?
Shop Owner Benefits
develop skilled employees without building a training program from scratch
Every meat processing business trains employees. The difference is whether that training is consistent, documented and connected to a meaningful career path.
- Stop training from scratch. The curriculum is written, tested, and ready. You supply the floor and the mentor; the program supplies everything else.
- Keep the people you train. Apprentices who see a defined path stay. Turnover in this trade is expensive.
- Documented competency. Every skill is assessed and recorded — useful for workforce planning and defensible on paper.
- Built by someone who has run a plant. The curriculum comes out of real USDA and custom-exempt operations, not a classroom.
- Federal registration, local delivery. You get the credibility of a DOL-registered program without building one yourself.
Worker Benefits
get paid while developing skills that can build your career
You do not need to leave the workforce or take on traditional college debt to develop a career in the meat trade. You develop your skills step by step, train with an experienced journeyworker and work toward a credential that demonstrates what you have learned.
- Earn while you learn. You are paid for every hour on the floor. No tuition debt, no time out of the workforce.
- A credential that travels. Federal registration means your certificate is recognized beyond the shop where you earned it.
- Structure, not guesswork. Every skill is defined, taught, and signed off. You know exactly where you stand and what comes next.
- One-on-one training. Every apprentice is paired with a journeyworker. You are not competing for attention.
- A real career ladder. The trade opens into fabrication, value-added production, quality assurance, USDA inspection, supervision, and ownership.
program eligibility
is the apprenticeship program right for you?
Employers
Training Agents Must:
- Operate within a participating state
- Complete the Training Agent approval process
- Assign a qualified journeyworker mentor
- Participate in documentation and assessments
prospective apprentices
Apprentices Must:
- Be employed by an NWMPA approved Training Agent
- Work in Washington, Oregon, Idaho or Utah
- Complete required work and instruction hours
- Complete required skill assessments
Preview the training
see what apprentices learn
Review the curriculum to see how the training is organized before your business or employee enrolls.
documentation
want to learn more?
Shop Owner Documents
Apprentice Documents
For more information on how you can get involved, please reach out to our training director:
see who is already signed up
our current list of training agents
Are you interested in becoming an apprentice with one of our existing Training Agents? Please reach out to a processor in your area:
Idaho:
MOUNTIAN VIEW CUSTOM MEATS
761 S Four Winds Rd., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814
Contact: Kevin Trosclair
Phone: (208) 765-6887
HOPKINS PACKING COMPANY
PO Box 375, Blackfoot, ID 83221
Contact: Chris Beck
Phone: (208) 785-1464
SONNEN MEATS
210 Sonnen Road, Greencreek, ID 83533
Contact: Norm Sonnen & Danielle Scott
Phone: (208) 962-3424
Oregon:
HINES MEATS COMPANY
2315 Jefferson Ave., LaGrande, OR 97850
Phone: (541) 975-2333
2nd Location: 1210 Dorion Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
Phone: (541) 304-2400
Contact: Jake Hines
Phone: (541) 975-3681
BIG HORN MEATS, INC. DBA H & K MEATS –
1389 Ankeny Hill Rd. SE Jefferson, OR 97352
Contact: Brian Dolby
Phone: (503) 378-1711
JACOBSMUHLENS LLC
1415 NW Susbauer Road, Cornelius, OR 97113-6331
Contact: Chad Jacobsmuhlens
Phone: (503) 359-0479
EASTERN OREGON MOBILE SLAUGHTER
253-W. Hermiston Ave, Hermiston, OR 97838-1713
Contact: Ted Horn
Phone: (541) 567-2011
MOUNTIAN VALLEY MEAT
5605 Miller Rd., Parkdale, OR 97041
Contact: Jason Johnston
Phone: (541) 352-6322
FOLLETT’S MEAT COMPANY
31019 Follett Lane, Hermiston, OR 97838
Contact: Justin Follett
Phone: (541) 564-2780
WILLAMINA MEAT SERVICE
1000 Oaken Hills Dr, Willamina, OR 97396
Contact: Mike Alger
Phone: (503) 510-7705
Washington:
DEL FOX MEATS –
7229 300th St. NE Stanwood, WA 98292
Contact: Bobby Morrison
Phone: (360) 629-3723
ISLAND GROWN FARMERS COOPERATIVE –
11719 Westar Lane, Burlington, WA 98233
Contact: Travis Stockstill
Phone: (360) 766-4273
JACK MOUNTAIN MEATS, INC
200 E Washington Ave Suite 160, Burlington, WA 98233
Contact: Tracy Smaciarz
Phone: (360) 873-8672
MATTS MEATS
1255 Alabama St, Longview, WA 98632
Contact: Tanner Pliler
(360) 414-1073
MCPHEE’S BUTCHER BLOCK
7509 S. 5th Ste. #113A, Ridgefield, WA 98642
Contact: James McPhee
Phone: (907) 250-1917
Utah:
BINGHAMS CUSTOM MEATS
371 E 300 N, Morgan, UT 87050
Contact: Nathan Bingham
Phone: (801) 645-2472