Level 2 Butcher Apprenticeship

This Level 2 Butcher Apprenticeship offers hands-on experience in retail and food production. You’ll learn customer service, food safety and butchery skills in a busy shop. Supported by your employer and college, you’ll gain a recognised qualification and build a strong foundation for a career.

Wage

• £14,560 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age
• National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices
• Minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Training course

• Butcher (level 2)

Hours

• Typically 8.00am - 4.00pm with a 1-hour unpaid break (7 hours per day), worked over 5 days including Saturdays.
• 35 hours a week

Start date

• Monday 28 September 2026

Duration

• 1 year 6 months

Positions available

• 1

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

• Serve customers and provide friendly, professional service
• Assist with preparing and displaying products
• Learn basic butchery and knife skills (with training)
• Handle stock, deliveries, and product rotation
• Maintain cleanliness and food hygiene standards
• Use tills and handle transactions
• Develop product knowledge to advise customers
• Support the day-to-day running of the shop

Where you'll work

• 6 MARKET PLACE EAST
• RIPON
• HG4 1BP

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

• BISHOP BURTON COLLEGE

Training course

• Butcher (level 2)
• Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Comply with regulations and legislation relevant to their role and business.
• Maintains and sharpens knives and cutting equipment.
• Manual handling of carcases or primals through the manufacturing or butchery process.
• Adhere to the organisational policies and standard operating procedures.
• Maintain the meat product to the given customer specification and food safety compliance and traceability procedures in the meat supply chain.
• Support colleagues in delivering the daily workplace requirements.
• Use technology and applications to support production, sales, and customer service.
• Contribute to continuous improvement activities which focus on improving sustainability within the business.
• Communicate with customers and stakeholders to meet their requirements.
• Process and dispose of waste material.
• Uses knives and cutting equipment to undertake a range of primary and secondary butchery skills.
• Serve customers in line with brand standards.
• Advise customers on the use by dates, storage, preparation, and cooking of meat products.
• Prepare, produce, and display meat products such as joints, portions, sausages, burgers, value-added products and offer alternative products when required.
• Plan and prepare for seasonal supply and demand of meat products in the merchandising and promotion of seasonal foods.
• Provide provenance and heritage product information.
• Set up and close meat counter displays.
• Balance the customers’ needs with additional linked products and services such as marinades, and encourage customer loyalty and repeat business.
• Produce meat to the specific volume, size, and weight to meet the needs of stakeholders.
• Maximise the saleable yield for the business relating to carcases or primals.
• Contribute to efficiencies to support the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the business through working to agreed specifications for their role.
• Adhere to customer specifications and contracts.
• Contribute to foreign body control and metal detection.
• Meet key performance indicators within meat processing.
• Comply with regulations and legislation relevant to their role and business.
• Maintains and sharpens knives and cutting equipment.
• Manual handling of carcases or primals through the manufacturing or butchery process.
• Adhere to the organisational policies and standard operating procedures.
• Maintain the meat product to the given customer specification and food safety compliance and traceability procedures in the meat supply chain.
• Support colleagues in delivering the daily workplace requirements.
• Use technology and applications to support production, sales, and customer service.
• Contribute to continuous improvement activities which focus on improving sustainability within the business.
• Communicate with customers and stakeholders to meet their requirements.
• Process and dispose of waste material.
• Uses knives and cutting equipment to undertake a range of primary and secondary butchery skills.