Food & Beverage Manufacturing
Whether you are manufacturing a nationally recognized beverage or nutraceutical, processing poultry, or exporting food products, your organization will find the workforce you need. Compared to the national average, North Louisiana has a deep supply of talent that helps our existing industry thrive. North Louisiana is home to Louisiana Crawfish, the number one shipper of live crawfish in the United States. While Louisiana may be known for its mudbugs and meat pies, poultry is Louisiana’s largest food industry. Poultry processing giants like Pilgrims’ Pride and House of Raeford continue to prosper in the region, making additional investments that improve their productivity and quality. Food and beverage manufacturers take advantage of our logistical infrastructure to quickly move goods throughout the nation and abroad.
Contact the Expert
Sheena Bryant, CEcD, EDFP
Business Development Strategy Vice President
- Phone: 318-677-2558
- Phone: sbryant@nlep.org
Major Employers
Workforce
North Louisiana begins industry-based workforce development early. Jump Start is Louisiana’s innovative career and technical education (CTE) program. Starting their junior year of high school, students can elect to pursue industry-promulgated, industry-valued credentials and graduate with a Career Diploma. Complementing Jump Start is North Louisiana Manufacturing Month, which has been celebrated every October for the past decade. The event aims to promote awareness of excellent career opportunities in manufacturing to grow the pipeline of future talent for these important drivers of economic development.
North Louisiana is witnessing significant strides in workforce development and manufacturing innovation, as evidenced by partnerships between educational institutions and local companies. A 2024 report places Louisiana education fourth overall nationally when revisiting the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card. The 2022 test was the first time this national assessment was taken by students since 2019, demonstrating that Louisiana jumped from 19th to fourth. This study ranks states with their scores adjusted for student demographics such as income, ethnicity, exceptionalities, and language barriers.
“When choosing a location for our new facility, we considered the advantages of northwest Louisiana, including its access to major U.S. markets and programs such as LED FastStart, which will equip this facility with qualified and skilled workers. We thank the partners who’ve helped us get to today’s announcement and look forward to locating in Shreveport.”
Justin Wilkinson
Vice President of Operations
Multipack