Butchers
It is a commonly discussed subject; the average age of a UK butcher seems to be between 50 and 60. I wonder what the average age would have been in 1950 after the war?
However, there now seems to be a healthy number of younger butchers emerging in and around London. We currently have three staff – all former chefs – who have become qualified butchers due to the better hours and better living conditions. They have an added advantage over us when it comes to product development and flavour balancing. There has also been an increase in new butcher’s shops started up by keen, inspired young men, along with father-to-son(s) succession. It is certainly easier to continue an established business. One former employee of ours started a new business about four years ago, with a small budget and a lot of heart. Now he has taken over a second shop and has a very happy local customer base. But the next thing is to attract school-leavers, and show them the benefits of the meat trade.
We recently advertised for an apprentice butcher, offering a full apprenticeship. There was a very quick response from a 17-year-old, who was not currently working. His name is Jamie. He had taken a job as an apprentice electrician, but in the six months employed, he had just worked as a cashier in the electrical shop. He had never been assessed, trained or tested and felt there was no prospect of development, so he left.
During the interview, I outlined the sort of apprenticeship I had in mind, and the job role he would be doing. As I led him around the shop and preparation areas it was a new experience for him. He left, and the other members of staff met me with smiles and questions. We had been short-staffed for a few weeks, and everybody was glad to hear he was starting on Monday.
Well Jamie has been with us for four weeks, and we’re really pleased with how he is progressing. He is starting a Level 3 butchery apprentice course very shortly. He can already dice and trim some cuts. He is the youngest member of the team for a long time.