Occupational Profile

Butchery is one of the oldest crafts in the world, and is often where innovation meets tradition to create an industry full of character and camaraderie that plays a critical role in our social and economic future. A successful butcher must demonstrate dexterous knife skills together with craft to be able to produce the most cuts to make every carcase profitable. 

Butchers work in the meat and poultry industry, which is worth several billion pounds in the UK and employs thousands of workers in the farm to fork supply chain. Qualified butchers can look forward to rewarding careers in a range of environments with different types of employers. Employers include both processors and retailers. Processors range from multinational processing businesses supplying meat or meat products to, for example: large food outlets, supermarkets and hotel chains; to smaller processors supplying for example, independent/local food businesses. Retailers could include supermarkets, independent retailers and farm shops. Those with an entrepreneurial spirit may be particularly attracted to butchery as the sector relies on a high proportion of small businesses, offering the potential for experienced butchers to set up on their own.

Butchery is a highly skilled profession steeped in tradition and butchers will display understanding about a range of meat species and the various techniques needed to process and/or produce products. In addition, butchers will be able to cut, prepare, package and present meat products to the standards required of the business and specialist needs of commercial and/or consumers. Butchers will have a range of skills, knowledge and behaviours that can lead to rewarding careers in the butchery industry, not only in the UK but across the world.