Advanced Butcher

An Advanced Butcher Apprenticeship at Plumpton College will equip the apprentice with the skills to progress a butchery career towards supervisory and management positions, within a growing meat industry that needs trained, qualified supervisors and managers.

Butchers progressing to advanced roles in manufacturing companies will often diversify into production management including roles with responsibility for people and/or functions such as sales, quality control or training others.

Equally, butchers advancing their careers in a large supermarket, independent retail or farm shop will be excellent communicators and possess a technical knowledge of meat products that are often supplemented with more generic skills in merchandising, sales, quality and people supervision

It is important for existing competent and reliable staff in a business, to be offered a career path to acquire and develop new skills and responsibilities. This is a cost effective and efficient solution for businesses to recruit and retain staff.

An Advance Butcher Apprentice at Plumpton will acquire the skills, knowledge and behaviours to practice butchery management at the highest level and there are different career paths available based on the job role;

• Retail
• Instore
• Processing Butchery.

On successful completion apprentices will automatically be eligible for full membership of the Institute of Meat (IoM).

What apprentices will learn

• Precision meat cutting and presentation for commercial and domestic customers
• Health and safety practices, and food safety and hygiene systems to management level
• The principles and science of meat
• Knowledge of meat and poultry, its selection and provenance
• Processing techniques
• Artisan practices and preparation of wet and dry meat, including curing, smoking and making pies and sausages
• Business profitability and how to maximise productivity, efficiency and customer care
• Merchandising and labelling
• Staff recruitment, mentoring and staff appraisals
• Specialist skills: retail shop, processing plant or in-store supermarket butchery
• For more information on the skills, knowledge and behaviours associated and learnt on this apprenticeship, please download the file attached to this link: Advanced Butcher Level 3

Qualifications Awarded

• Apprenticeship Certificate
• Level 3 award in food safety supervision for manufacturing
• Level 3 award in hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) for food manufacturing
• Level 3 award in health and safety in the food supply chain business
• Level 2 in math and/or English Functional Skills (if applicable)

Apprentices without level 2 English and mathematics will need to achieve this level prior to taking the end point assessment. 

Delivery model

A blended learning experience with attendance at our butchery training centre located next to our college farm, Lambert Farm on our main campus approximately every fortnight (during term time only), live online theoretical teaching learning and quarterly workplace competency and efficiency observation and assessments.

The entry requirements for all apprentices aged 18 or under at time of enrolment, will require either: 

• GCSE 3 or above in English (either Literature or Language) and Maths
• GCSE D or above in English (either Literature or Language) and Maths
• Level1 Functional Skills English and Maths (or equivalent qualification|) at this level or Level 2

Should you not meet the entry requirements for English and Maths, please get in contact with us. We are aware that there are many factors that may have affected your previous education and grades, so will consider these in support of the application on an individual basis.

For all apprentices aged 19 and over at time of enrolment, Functional Skills is an optional component of your apprenticeship programme. As a college, we support the progression of all our apprentices and provide the opportunity to undertake Functional Skills English and/or maths as part of your apprenticeship qualification. Throughout your pre-enrolment, you and your employer will have the opportunity to discuss this in more detail to help facilitate your decision.

In addition to your prior English and Maths qualifications, you will complete an initial assessment for English and Maths as part of your pre-boarding session in college. This assessment will give us a current working level grade and will indicate which level Functional Skills you will be enrolled on if you have not got a GCSE 4/C or above in English and Maths. We may contact you to discuss this grade if we have any concerns.

If you have a grade 4/C or above in GCSE English and/or Maths, you will not be required to attend Functional Skills English and/or Maths sessions as part of your Apprenticeship.

Please note: You will be required to produce your GCSE certificates BEFORE you start your course to be exempt from attending Functional Skills English and Maths sessions.

To enrol onto an apprenticeship programme you need to be employed with a contract of employment. If you have an employer lined up or are already employed please contact our Business Services team on 01273 892127 or via email.

You must be in a role that will allow you the opportunity to develop the necessary skills, knowledge and behaviours set out in the apprenticeship. Additionally, apprentices must have a working level of maths and English that will allow successful achievement of level 1 functional skill prior to the end point assessment.

If you do not currently have an employer please visit the main Apprenticeships page for guidance on how to find and apply for an apprenticeship opportunity or register for our Talent Bank service.

If you are an employer and would like to recruit or enrol an existing employee onto an apprenticeship please contact our Business Services team on  01273 892127 or via email.