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Food manufacturing workers

How to become a Ham and Sausage Maker

Also called: Wiener sausage maker, Meat cutter (meat products), Meat smoker, Meat preparation worker, Sausage stuffer, Ham, bacon and sausage maker, Ham and sausage boiler

Cuts and trims raw meat, then cures and smokes it to make ham, sausages and bacon.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say high school or university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start. Job openings for new graduates are often sent to high schools with agriculture or food courses and to universities. New graduates usually find jobs through their school, and people changing careers mostly through Hello Work (public employment service) and job advertisements. After hiring, some companies run a training period covering general and specialist knowledge, or have new staff spend several months selling products before placing them in production. There are many kinds of ham and sausage, each made with different methods and steps, so for each product you need to learn the blend of meat and food additives, how to operate the machines and equipment, and quality and hygiene control. Under the Food Sanitation Act, every factory making meat products such as ham and sausages must have at least one food hygiene manager. A related qualification is the ham, sausage and bacon making exam in the ginou kentei (national trade skills test) run by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Ham and Sausage Maker?

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start. Job openings for new graduates are often sent to high schools with agriculture or food courses and to universities. New graduates usually find jobs through their school, and people changing careers mostly through Hello Work (public employment service) and job advertisements. After hiring, some companies run a training period covering general and specialist knowledge, or have new staff spend several months selling products before placing them in production. There are many kinds of ham and sausage, each made with different methods and steps, so for each product you need to learn the blend of meat and food additives, how to operate the machines and equipment, and quality and hygiene control. Under the Food Sanitation Act, every factory making meat products such as ham and sausages must have at least one food hygiene manager. A related qualification is the ham, sausage and bacon making exam in the ginou kentei (national trade skills test) run by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

How much does a Ham and Sausage Maker earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,967,400 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Food, beverage and tobacco production workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Ham and Sausage Maker?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 13% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: National trade skills test (技能検定).

Will AI change the work of a Ham and Sausage Maker?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026