Food processing

How to become a meat and seafood process worker

Official title: Meat and seafood process worker

Also called: Knifehand, Deboner, Slicer, Freezing worker, Process worker

Meat and seafood process workers use knives, grinders or meat saws to prepare red meat, poultry and seafood products.

Main tasks

Cut and prepare meat and seafood
Inspect and sort food products
Weigh and mark food products for identification
Store meat and seafood safely
Follow hygiene and quality assurance rules
Clean equipment and preparation areas
Manage stock and distribute supplies
Use knives safely and efficiently

How to become one

You usually learn on the job to become a meat and seafood process worker and a qualification may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job. Other requirements: a New Zealand Certificate in Meat Processing (Level 3); a New Zealand Certificate in Seafood Processing (Level 3).

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

Certificates and diplomas: Entry certificates in food and beverage service. TEC links this job to study in food tourism and hospitality. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Food and Beverage Service. Usually 5 to 6 months. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $37,000 a year one year after study and $49,000 five years after; 32% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).; Entry certificates in seafood processing. TEC links this job to study in process and resources engineering. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Seafood Processing. Usually 5 months. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $54,000 a year one year after study and $55,000 five years after; 75% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Most common pay: $55,000 to $90,000 a year (median $70,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
Upper: $122,000 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Steady (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Meat, Poultry and Seafood Process Workers: 9,531 at the 2018 Census and 7,443 at the 2023 Census (-21.9%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 6,700 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Meat, Poultry and Seafood Process Workers, 37% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Meat, Poultry and Seafood Process Workers work (2023 Census): Canterbury 15.2%, Auckland 11.8%, and Waikato 10.7%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a meat and seafood process worker?

How much does a meat and seafood process worker earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $70,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $55,000 to $90,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a meat and seafood process worker grown in New Zealand?

It has held steady: TEC records the number of people doing this job as steady between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a meat and seafood process worker?

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

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026