The six finalists for the WorldSkills Butchery competition have been named.
Hannah Blakey, a 17-year-old apprentice at Leeds City College, is both the youngest competitor and the first female to make it to the finals.
She will be joined by Peter Rushforth of Swans Farm Shop in Mold, Wales; James Gracey of Quails of Dromore in Co Down, Northern Ireland; Dylan Gillespie from Clogher Valley Meats in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland; Martin Naan from Kettyle Irish Foods in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and Daniel Turley of Aubrey Allen, Coventry.
Together they were the six highest scorers across heats in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The final, which will take place from 17th to 18th November at the NEC in Birmingham, will see the competitors perform five tasks over two days. They will be judged by National Federation of Meat and Food Traders (NFMFT) chief executive Roger Kelsey, industry consultant Viv Harvey and chief executive of the Institute of Meat, Keith Fisher.
The competition is organised by Cambrian Training Company and supported by an industry steering group.
Sponsors include the NFMFT, Institute of Meat, The Food & Drink Training and Education Council, Hybu Cig Cymru and Viv Harvey.
“We would like to thank all our sponsors and partners who have supplied invaluable support and resources throughout the competition so far, because without the support we have received from the industry, the competition just wouldn’t be possible,” Chris Jones, head of business unit for food manufacturing and butchery at Welshpool-based Cambrian Training Company, said.
“It plays a major part in improving skills, increasing awareness and encouraging the next generation to choose butchery as their career path.”
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.
