National Certificate in Meat Retailing (Level 4)

Aidan Wilkinson learned to be a butcher on the job and at MIT. Picture / Graeme Sedal

THE QUALIFICATION
National Certificate in Meat Retailing (Level 4)
Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT)
0800 62 62 52 or 09 968 8000
Email: MIT
Web: www.manukau.ac.nz
Course costs: Apprenticeship courses are subsidised by the Retail Meat Industry Training Organization. Maximum apprentice pays is $350, depending on number of units the the apprentice is signed up for.
Hourly wage: $15 to $20 per hour when newly qualified

One of the most traditional apprenticeships involving food would be that of the retail butcher apprentice working in either supermarkets or neighbourhood butcheries.

Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) is one of four providers of apprenticeship off-job courses for butchers through the National Certificate in Meat Retailing.

Butcher apprentices attend three two-week block courses over three to four years to achieve the level four national certificate. MIT is currently trialing a new format that takes apprentices out of their workplace for less time to help cut down on the disruption.

On completion, apprentices become qualified butchers. Most butchers complete this certificate, then do specializations in small goods and curing and/or carcass boning.

Small private butchers in particular prefer staff to have the small goods and curing specialization.

The off-job training covers topics such as food safety, health and safety in the workplace, legal requirements, customer service and knife sharpening.

Nutrition, cooking methods, tray display, gourmet meat cuts and meat quality also feature in the course. Assessing the quality of carcasses post-slaughter is an important aspect of butchery because of issues of tenderness and shelf life.

The block courses, which are 60 per cent theory, aim to provide the knowledge that underpins the apprentice's practical skills.

Practical skills are also formally assessed during the block courses but it is expected most of the practical learning is done on the job.

Block courses run between March and the end of November. Other training providers are based in Wellington and Christchurch. A fourth private provider is non-campus based.

THE GRADUATE
Aidan Wilkinson
Butcher at Drury Meats, Drury
19 years old
Qualified June this year

I've been at Drury Meats for a couple of years. I came in and asked for a job while I was in 6th form (Year 12). I had been working in the school holidays for a friend of my dad's who was a butcher and enjoyed it. I mucked around at school but working at Drury Meats has really changed my perspective.

We do lots of things; cutting up beasts, carving meat and making small goods like sausages, salami and bacon. What I enjoy most is doing the display case each morning and helping customers. You get to meet a lot of people and I now feel confident talking to them about types of meat and ways to cook it. I learned a lot of that through the course.

We went to Manukau Institute of Technology to learn the theory behind what we did at work. We were also assessed on the practical skills we learned at work. The tutors are fun and really good. They kept relating what we were learning back to our work which made a big difference to helping me learn. I realize now I prefer that style of learning. I think it is important to become qualified.

THE EMPLOYER
Barry Raymond
Owner of Drury Meats

We teach our apprentices the basics and then I see that knowledge and skill getting polished up through tech.

We also find a lot of value in our apprentices coming back with information about new technology and techniques. Aidan recently came back with some new ideas about curing meats. We have our own ways of doing it but we're now trialing some of these new ideas which is great.

I trust Aidan to do the job well and customers speak highly of him. He has gained a lot of confidence during his apprenticeship and last year won the regional under 20 Butcher of the Year Award and came second in the south Auckland Rotary Trainee of the Year award.

I did my apprenticeship at this butchery, then came back 20 years later and bought it.

I started by myself and now there are nine of us. The traditional butcher was becoming a bit of a dying art but there seems to be a resurgence of people happy to pay a bit more for quality meat from their local butcher. However there seem to be less and less guys going through the apprenticeships, which is an issue.