Level 3 Advanced Apprentice Butcher

Course Description

Level 3 Advanced Apprentice Butcher

An Advanced Butcher will often take responsibility for a shop or function in a meat business and will possess dexterous knife skills allied with all round knowledge of the craft/processing environment. 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.

Advanced butchers will have a comprehensive understanding of health and safety practice that is matched with knowledge of food safety and hygiene systems at management level. They will also possess a technical understanding about a range of meat species, provenance supply chains and techniques (automated & craft) needed to process and/or produce products in a lean manufacturing or retail environment. They will ensure precision in the cutting and presentation of meat products as required by commercial and/or domestic consumers. Butchers especially those in independent retail environments will have good knowledge of artisan practices and the preparation of wet/dry meats in to a variety of culinary uses including sausages, pie making, curing and smoking. In addition, they will be actively contributing towards the profitability of their business/function and maximising safety, productivity, efficiency and customer care.

Advanced Butchers are a valuable asset to any meat and poultry business in the UK and across the world and will spend rewarding careers in an industry that offers progression in to a number of sub occupations such as sales, training, production and retail management. Apprentices will need to demonstrate the core knowledge, skills and behaviours detailed below, plus the specific knowledge and skills for their specialist environment that will be traditionally set in a retail shop, processing plant or ‘in store’ butchery department in a supermarket.

Pass Rate: 77%

Ideally suited to those who have been in the industry for two to three years or who have completed the Level 2 Butcher Apprenticeship and wish to step up to the next level.

The advanced apprenticeship is designed to give the recipient the tools to progress within their chosen sector and who have the desire to move to management level within their chosen part of the meat industry.

Completion of the apprenticeship takes 24 months.

The average time to complete is around 22 months.

Everyone learns at different speeds so it is very much down to the apprentice, employer and training provider to gauge the time it would take.

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 3 Advanced Apprentice Butcher, this amounts to £600 + 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 at the end of your apprenticeship conducted independently by an end point assessment organisation.

The EPA comprises three elements:

  1. The knowledge test – This consists of 30 multiple choice questions (MCQs) and 5 short answer questions (SAQs); there are 35 questions in total.
  2. The Workplace Observation – The Independent Examiner (IE) will carry out the workplace observation at the venue agreed with the employer/training provider and apprentice. This follows the apprentice and last for 2 hours during which the IE observes and asks questions pertinent to the actions and process observed Venue.
  3. The Interview – The interview will take place after the workplace observation in quiet and private agreed with the IE. Each apprentice will be interviewed individually. The interview will last 40 minutes. The IE will read and review the apprentice’s portfolio in advance of the EPA day. The portfolio underpins the interview. The IE will select 12 open, competence-based questions from FDQ’s question bank for the interview. The IE may also ask follow up questions for clarification.

Once you’ve successfully finished, you have plenty of choices. You could apply To complete the Master Butcher programme, however this would need to be self-funded 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.

On successful completion, apprentices will be entitled to automatic registration to full membership of the Institute of Meat

  • 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 Manager
  • Buying Specialist
  • Health and Safety Officer
  • Food Safety Officer
  • Trainer and Assessor
  • Environmental Health Officer
  • Area Manager
  • Meat Science Degree

All apprenticeships are employer-led and are the responsibility of the employer, with support of training providers. The employer will normally provide:

  • induction training, manage 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 CBT 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 3 Advanced Butchery apprenticeship is £12,000.

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 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 3 this amounts to £600.

77%

The butchery 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.

On successful completion, apprentices will be entitled to automatic registration to full membership of the Institute of Meat. This entitles them to use the initials M.Inst.M on email address, business cards & any other platforms.

For more information contact Mike Whittemore at mike@crosbytraining.co.uk  Telephone 07973 702418.

 

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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

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