By the end of their programme apprentice butchers will possess knowledge, skills and behaviours laid out in the apprenticeship standard. Butchery is a highly skilled craft profession steeped in tradition. At your apprenticeship EPA you will be able to display knowledge and skills of a range of meat species and the various techniques needed to process and/or produce products for sale. In addition, butchers will be able to cut, prepare, package and present meat products to the standards required.
Level 2 Apprentice Butcher
Course Description
Level 2 Butcher Apprenticeship
Pass Rate: 86%
For anyone entering the trade in either the retail, processing or catering sectors.
Those with an entrepreneurial spirit may be particularly attracted to butchery as the sector relies on a high proportion of small businesses.
18 months. However, everyone learns at a different speed. Depending on your Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours the apprenticeship can be completed in 12 months.
16 months is the average period of time to complete the Level 2 Apprenticeship.
All apprentices aged 18 and under and are working for an employer with <50 employees will have the full cost of their apprenticeship covered with Government funding. Apprentices aged 18 and under will also be eligible for further incentive payments.
For apprentices aged 19+, employers are required to make a 5% contribution towards the cost of the total apprenticeship funding. For a Level 2 Butcher, this amounts to £450 + VAT.
If you are a levy paying employer (have a wage bill of £3 million & above) then the full cost of your apprenticeship will be covered through your Apprenticeship Levy funds.
Further details on funding and incentives can be found below.
There is an end point assessment conducted independently by an end point assessment organisation.
There are three parts to the End point Assessment (EPA):
1. Practical assessment lasting 75 minutes. You can choose the meat species you wish to demonstrate on.
2. Multiple Choice Examination. 60 questions & time allocated is 90 minutes.
3. Vocational Competence Discussion. 1-2-1 interview lasting 30 minutes where you will be asked 8 open questions.
Once you’ve successfully finished, you have plenty of choices. You could apply for another apprenticeship (advanced Butcher) or find a career that uses your new skills. Some of the top reasons for becoming an apprentice.
- Earn while you learn and get paid a competitive salary.
- Get high quality training paid for by your employer and the government.
In addition, butchers will be able to cut, prepare, package and present meat products to the standards required of the business and specialist needs of commercial and/or consumers.
Following successful completion of the apprenticeship, apprentices are recognised by the Institute of Meat (IoM) entitling them to use the initials M.Inst.M.
- A productive and effective way to upskill and future-proof an organisation to grow talent and develop a motivated, skilled, and qualified workforce.
- It will provide a hands-on and practical experience to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours for the apprentice.
- Achieve a real return on investment from apprentices realising the business benefits of apprenticeships, with apprentices progressing in their chosen careers.
- From time to time the Government promote incentives to assist employers wishing to develop apprentices, ask for more information to see what is available.
Doing the apprenticeship can open many doors for you. It could lead your career into a direction you had never even existed.
Here are a few career goals you will be qualified for or can progress towards once you have passed your End Point Assessment…
- Butchery supervisor
- Entry into Food Safety
- Entry into Health and Safety
- Buying supervisor
- Food retail business operator
- Restaurant
- Farm to fork liaison
- Social media influencer
- Brand ambassador
All apprenticeships are employer-led and are the responsibility of the employer, with support of training providers. The employer will normally provide:
- induction training, managing the employee, including performance management reviews
- conduct monthly 1-2-1s and provide support
- provide workplace learning activities, shadowing opportunities, coaching, and mentoring
- co-operate with Crosby to facilitate workplace application of the Butchery role
- provide ongoing and final feedback
- co-operate with the requirement for 20% of apprentices’ time to be spent ‘off the job’ learning related to the Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship Standard
Crosby will provide:
- initial advice and guidance, clarify roles and responsibilities and agree a timetable
- complete relevant apprentice paperwork
- Finding the right pace of learning for your apprentice
- help identify learning gaps and deliver training (working with you to make sure your apprentice is learning the relevant knowledge, skills and behaviours)
- Making sure your apprentice is working in an appropriate environment.
- conduct progress reviews and provide learner support
- support in preparing the apprentice for the formal End Point Assessment (EPA)
You can start any time throughout the year, whenever the apprentice and employer are ready.
Please contact us to register your interest.
The government funding for a Level 2 Butchery apprenticeship is £9,000.
95% of the apprenticeship is funded by the government, and 5% by the employer.
If the apprentice is under 19 100% of the cost is covered by the central government. There are other parameters dependent on size of the business.
An added incentive for non-levy payers is if the apprentice is under 19 you will receive £1000 grant in staged payments from the Government.
If the Apprentice is over 18 non-levy payers will be asked to contribute 5% of the fee, so for a Level 2 this amounts to £450.
86%
The Level 2 Butchery Apprenticeship is catered to all ages, we can accommodate everyone from 16 and above. There is no maximum age to begin the process and can commence at any time of year, as it’s not concurrent with the regular school year.
Following successful completion of the apprenticeship, apprentices are recognised by the Institute of Meat (IoM). This entitles them to use the initials M.Inst.M on email address, business cards & any other platforms.
For more information contact us by email at info@crosbytraining.co.uk or by telephone on 01902 837452.
For further details please contact us using the telephone number below or the form on our contact us page.
Learner Reviews
Having done my level 2 butchery apprenticeship with Crosby Training I was very keen to do my level 3 butchery apprenticeship with them.
The level 3 apprenticeship is much more theory-based which is quite challenging but my tutor (Kevin) is always there whether in person or on a zoom meetings to answer any problems that might have occurred.
On my level 2 I had the opportunity to go the residential in Snowdonia. This was a great opportunity to meet other apprentices from different parts of the country and speak to them about what was going on within the industry. This has opened up my eyes to where I can go within the industry, and through the training I had from Crosby I have be given the opportunity to represent Great Britain in the World Butchery Challenge Competition over in the United States of America.
Robert Smith
Assistant Manager at Walter Smith Fine Foods
I really enjoyed my apprenticeship and had such a great time learning and working with Tara and Chris. They were always so easy to get hold of and would always get back to me if they were busy. I loved the Meat Science day at the office in Wolverhampton, I learnt so much and still to this day can tell customers about how hip suspension affects the meat quality! It has given me so much confidence in sharing my knowledge with colleagues and customers and has given me the chance to learn so much more than I expected to!
Mia Tamburrini
Level 2 Apprentice from The Gog