The U.S. Pork Center of Excellence has launched a new program, PIG Opportunities, within the Pork Information Gateway (PIG) Web site at http://isu.porkgateway.org.

“PIG Opportunities is designed to encourage individuals to pursue a career in the pork industry,” says the center’s Executive Director David Meisinger. “This program will provide one location for individuals from around the United States to learn about community colleges and universities that offer swine science courses, careers in the pork industry and available internships.”

There are four components to PIG Opportunities. Careers in Pork is a list of careers in the pork industry including experience needed, duties of the position and skill requirements.

Second and third parts are the Community College and the Swine Science Four-Year College and Institutions sections that provide lists of educational institutions offering swine science courses within their curriculum.

The final component of PIG Opportunities, Internships, offers a listing of internships available in the pork industry.

Employers, universities and community colleges are invited to share their opportunities in the swine industry free of charge by contacting Sarah Beaman at sbbeaman@iastate.edu

The U.S. Pork Center of Excellence was established in 2005 as a public/private partnership to bring together academic expertise in research, teaching and extension related to pork production.

The center is housed at the National Swine Research and Information Center on the Iowa State University campus. There are two governmental agencies, two industry associations, 14 state pork producer associations and 25 land grant universities involved in the coalition.