Cost-effective PCQI Training
Are there any resources out there that will give me free PCQI training? Some of the training sessions online are hundreds of dollars.
I know they have made an amendment to the FSMA definition of a PCQI with the addition of something along the lines of "PCQI training or years of experience" however I have only been in the Quality and Food Safety industry for two years now so I do need a formal training. Our inspector told me that my "experience" would not cut it.
Are there any resources out there that will give me free PCQI training? Some of the training sessions online are hundreds of dollars.
I know they have made an amendment to the FSMA definition of a PCQI with the addition of something along the lines of "PCQI training or years of experience" however I have only been in the Quality and Food Safety industry for two years now so I do need a formal training. Our inspector told me that my "experience" would not cut it.
I don't know of any free ones. I doubt there is any.
You can download the manual here: https://www.ifsh.iit...2_Watermark.pdf
But you still need to take the course to get the certificate to be a PCQI.
There is this one that's online and slightly cheaper than the rest:
https://www.imepik.c...rsaAhE9EALw_wcB
Also this one is a little cheaper for a limited time:
https://food-industr...yQaAsLOEALw_wcB
Hope that helps :)
Sorry, don't know of any free training programs. Professional trainers like to get paid for working.
Search for Food Industry Consulting. My company is cheap and had me research for the best available price and this place had the cheapest I could find. They offer online training in a "virtual classroom" which was pretty neat but requires a webcam. Just make sure you study for the exam as you'd have to pay over again to even re-test. Also it cost an adittional $50 (kind of ridiculous after paying for a $600 class) for the actual certificate. Hope this helped :) good luck on your journey.
I paid $899 for 2.5 days and felt it was a bargain. Plus I networked with the other participants.
My suggestion on this is don't skimp. The information provided by a good trainer is invaluable. i took mine through a company called Soterian Systems for $795, and was very happy with the training provided for that price. I also suggest in person classroom over online.
Hi AHJ,
Have you checked the blended version of the course?I seem to remember it was usually cheaper.
I'm a PCQI lead instructor by the way; after taking the PCQI course for my company, I took a lead instructor one just as a matter of curiosity (I'm not advertising me, I think it wouldn't be a good idea to give a course in english, I'm not that fluid :closedeyes: ). About your experience being enough or not, I've always heard that a person is qualified through experience once the system you have implanted/managed successfully passes a preventive controls inspection... like:"ok, don't do the course; if we inspect you and the system is "ok", then it means you know enough to not do the course". Anyway, your system can be inadequate regardless you do the course once or ten times, so it's sorta "tricky". I would recommend you to take the course but not because it is a regulated requirement but to learn how to adapt your system to the new approach; spend some hundreds of dollars once now will avoid you headaches in the future...
As GMO said, I've heard several times (once from an expert in a Food safety matters podcast) that what the US is trying with this "new old approach" is to make US companies get rid of their old HACCP, covered in dust in a shelf, and being more proactive...In the end, the approach is the same but with different names, and in my opinion, less philosophy than the HACCP classic approach: "Does this risk needs a preventive control?why?". No decision tree, no categorization of risk, etc., just answering the question: "is this risk important?". Again, same goal but different names for various concepts.
I hope you find a cheap course soon. Regards.