WCMA Trainings

Interested in connecting with dairy processing professionals and showing your support for the industry?

Consider sponsoring WCMA's educational offerings!

Employee Safety Programming

WCMA Basic Safety Training for Dairy Processors

Ensure your valued team members have the knowledge and skills needed to stay safe on the job! Register them now for WCMA's new Basic Safety Training for Dairy Processors, offered either in-person or virtually throughout the year. This class is for everyone working in the dairy processing industry - from the newcomer to the veteran, whether you need safety training for onboarding purposes or as a refresher.

Designed with input from WCMA's Health & Safety Group (HSG), this course teaches participants about their rights, employer responsibilities, and - most importantly - how to identify, abate, and avoid job-related hazards they may encounter. The curriculum concentrates on safety strategies related to machine guarding, lockout/tag out, prevention of slips, trips, and falls, chemical controls, and control of hazardous energy - the key focus areas of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration's ongoing Local Emphasis Program for food processors.

This course is taught in an interactive style, and all elements are industry-specific. Images, videos and illustrative examples included in the training are pulled from dairy processing plants or dairy industry suppliers.

Participants will come away not only with new knowledge, but also with a packet of training materials and a certificate of completion from Chippewa Valley Technical College and WCMA, that they and their employer can retain as a record of quality instruction.

Here's a look at our upcoming offerings:

May 13, 2025: WCMA Basic Safety Training for Dairy Processors (In-Person)
November 6, 2025: WCMA Basic Safety Training for Dairy Processors (Virtual)

Have questions? Please contact WCMA Senior Director of Programs & Policy Rebekah Sweeney.

WCMA Train the Safety Trainer Course

Build your skills as a trainer and enhance your organization's safety culture by engaging in WCMA's Train the Safety Trainer program, offered either in-person or virtually twice per year.

Designed with input from WCMA's Health & Safety Group (HSG), this course is designed to equip the dairy processing industry's safety trainers with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to effectively communicate safety expectations and protocols for maximum compliance. HSG members note the importance of this offering now, as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues its Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for food processors, following a troubling uptick in serious injuries in manufacturing plants.

This course is taught in an interactive style and covers best practices for design and delivery methods used by successful workforce safety trainers. While those attending should have a strong grasp on industry safety practices already, instructors will emphasize training around OSHA's LEP areas of concerns, including machine guarding, lockout/tag out, prevention of slips, trips, and falls, chemical controls, and control of hazardous energy.

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

Define training and facilitation in the workplace;
Conduct a training needs assessment;
Evaluate their training programs for clarity and efficacy;
Understand various presentation tools and methods;
Identify the characteristics of an exceptional trainer;
Discuss adult learning principles;
Handle environmental challenges and disruptive participants; and
Develop vocal, verbal and visual skills to conduct an effective training class.

Participants will also come away with a packet of training materials and a certificate of completion from Chippewa Valley Technical College and WCMA, that they and their employer can retain as a record of instruction.

Here's a look at our upcoming offerings:

September 9, 2025: WCMA Train the Safety Training (In-Person)

Have questions? Please contact WCMA Senior Director of Programs & Policy Rebekah Sweeney.

Leadership Programming

WCMA Front-Line Leadership Trainings

WCMA's popular Front-Line Leadership Classes are designed for new and seasoned supervisors of focused teams, and will help build their skillset in the areas of conflict resolution, communication, stress and time management, and the cultivation of a team mentality.

Classes are offered à la carte, and may be taken in any order. Tuition is $159 per person, per course for virtual offerings, and $179 for in-person offerings.

Fall 2025

Track 1 - Virtual Courses

Track 2 - In-Person Courses - Generously sponsored by Nelson-Jameson, Inc.!

Successful completion of all three parts of WCMA Front-Line Leadership will result in a free, full registration to CheeseExpo 2026 - a savings of approximately $600!

Click on the links above for additional information and to get signed up today! Have questions? Please contact WCMA Membership Director Sara Schmidt.