Plumpton College opens meat skills training facility
Plumpton College near Lewes has opened a new meat processing education and training facility at its college farm.
The new centre at Lambert Farm has been funded by the Rural Payments Agency and the South East Enterprise Partnership, and aims to help farms diversify and become more resilient.
The centre, which can accommodate up to 12 students each at their own butcher block, uses overhead cameras that allows tutors to deliver lessons remotely. It is fitted with large cold storage facilities and freezers to serve both the college dining room and the butchery counter at the college-run One Garden Brighton.
As well as practical butchery skills, the facility includes equipment and space to provide students with training around customer service and engagement skills that Plumpton says are vital for the workplace including how products are displayed, packaged and stored.
“An enriching experience”
Programme manager Henry Martin said: “The facility at Plumpton College allows students to use electronic equipment such as a mincer, slicer and sausage filler, as well as packaging and storage equipment. This will enable them to make their own value-added products testing different flavour profiles and ingredients where perhaps in the workplace, they will not have the time and freedom to experiment and perfect their skills.”
Jeremy Kerswell, principal for Plumpton College, added that the course at Plumpton offers students “an enriching experience not on offer anywhere else, from farm to fork.”
The college said it looks forward to hosting an open evening in the spring for the sector to tour its new facilities.
More information on the centre, the college and its current apprenticeship vacancies can be found on the Plumpton College website.
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