Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) has unveiled a campaign to spotlight over 750 potential vacancies in the butchery industry.
The programme is being run in partnership with Skills Development Scotland and was launched on the first day of Scottish Careers Week, 15th to 19th November. QMS hopes that the campaign will “shine a spotlight on butchery as a chance for young people to learn a craft, picking up skills that range from traditional to those using cutting-edge technologies.”
The campaign is being supported by a new careers website - butcherycareers.co.uk – where potential candidates can learn about training opportunities, read and watch the real stories of young butchers’ careers and explore job postings.
Case study videos featuring different job roles within the industry are also being promoted, alongside social media adverts being shared across Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. The programme also aims to raise awareness of the government funding opportunities available to support businesses in employing young people.
Future-proofing the sector
With the average age of a butcher in Scotland at 60, QMS said that the industry needs to ensure there is a pipeline of young trainees coming through to future-proof the red meat sector, amidst a serious shortfall of skilled positions.
As females currently represent 14% of apprentices in the retail butchery sector, the programme will “work to remove outdated perceptions and showcase the diverse and accessible range of technical and business skills to be learned through the trade.”
Around 25% of current vacancies are apprenticeship opportunities in the retail, processing and catering sector. QMS said that the new programme “will underline the crucial business skills that the career provides, from selection of products and product development to learning about the supply chain, recipe development, pricing, profitability and customer service.”
"Excellent career opportunities"
Gordon Newlands, brand development manager at QMS, said: “Butchery is one of the oldest crafts in the world with genuine heritage and traditions, but we want to show that it can also provide an exciting, pioneering and highly skilled career for young people today. At a time when we are all conscious of skilled labour shortages, butchery presents a huge array of excellent career opportunities. This is a trade where innovation meets tradition to create an industry full of character and camaraderie that will play a critical role in our social and economic future.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
