New Training Project Brings Butchery Opportunities to Students

A new pilot training programme has been launched to encourage young people across Scotland to develop their butchery skills.

The new venture sees the Scotch Butchers Club and the Scotch Beef Club – both run by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) - collaborating with the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Association (SFMTA) and City of Glasgow College.

The course aims to combat the shortage of young people going into butchery by offering expert led training by Stewart McClymont, QMS Master Butcher, and Sean Graham, Scottish Meat Training Assessor.

The course is designed to increase the skills, knowledge and confidence of professional cookery students from colleges throughout Scotland.

Over three days of training the students cover skills such as carcase/primal breakdown, boning out, seam cutting, trimming and the production of burgers, sausages and bacon. Students will also be involved in the sale of products including joints and steaks in the City of Glasgow College Craft Market shop.

Working with Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI or Specially Selected Pork the students will not only learn the skills of a master butcher but also have access to further support to help them find placements within a retail butchery environment.

Graeme Sharp, manager of the Scotch Butchers Club, QMS, said the programme is an excellent opportunity to both develop the meat skills of catering students and encourage potential recruits into the butchery sector.  

 “Attracting, training and retaining younger skilled staff is a key issue for the butchery industry and we are delighted to be supporting the young students in their training.

“Promoting and encouraging young people to develop their skills in the trade and bring forward innovative ideas is key to the future of the industry and it’s great to see the passion and drive every one of the students has,” said Mr Sharp

“Three students from the pilot have already shown an interest in finding part-time work in a butcher’s retail outlet,” he added.

For more information on the butchery skills course or to enquire about future courses please contact Ciara Etherson on cetherson@qmscotland.co.uk or Graeme Sharp gsharp@qmscotland.co.uk.