Butchery Apprenticeship

ALFORDON FARMS LTD

OKEHAMPTON (EX20 1QH)

Closes in 19 days (Monday 30 November 2026 at 11:59pm)

Posted on 11 November 2026

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Summary

Alfordon Farms are offering an exciting opportunity to join their team as a Butchery Apprentice. This is a fantastic opportunity to receive professional training in essential butchery skills in various areas of the Butchery department, in conjunction with learning skills through attendance at Duchy College, Stoke Climsland.

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)

Weekly hours will vary depending on rota. Pay will be national apprentice rates initially. 30-40 hours per week. Wages will increase as skills develop.

Training course
Butcher (level 2)
Hours
7.00am - 4.00pm, approximately 30 - 40 hours a week per rota.

35 hours a week

Start date

Monday 11 January 2027

Duration

1 year 6 months

Positions available

1

Work

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

What you'll do at work

  • Prepare and cut meat to customer and business specifications using safe butchery techniques
  • Assist in the preparation, packing, labelling, and display of meat products
  • Maintain high standards of food hygiene, cleanliness, and health and safety in the workplace
  • Use and care for butchery tools, knives, machinery, and equipment safely
  • Monitor stock levels, rotate stock, and help minimise waste
  • Serve customers professionally, offering product knowledge and excellent customer service 
  • Receive, check and store deliveries in line with food safety procedures
  • Work as part of a team to complete daily production and shop tasks 
  • Follow company procedures and legal requirements for food safety, quality, and traceability 

Where you'll work

STOCKLEY
OKEHAMPTON
EX20 1QH

Training

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

Training provider

CORNWALL 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.

Training schedule

You will be working towards a Level 2 Butchery Apprenticeship standard.

 

You will be required to attend Duchy College Stoke Climsland on a weekly basis as part of the apprenticeship training.

 

You will receive support from an assessor and an Apprenticeship Advisor.

More training information

This apprenticeship is designed for people who want hands-on food industry skills in retail counter and processing environments. You will build recognised competence preparing a wide range of meat and poultry cuts while following strict food safety and health and safety standards. Your option route will match your employers specialism and supports progression into advanced roles.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

  • English (grade 3/D)
  • Maths (grade 3/D)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

  • Communication skills
  • Customer care skills
  • Problem solving skills
  • Team working

About this employer

Alfordon Farms are a family run farm shop based on the outskirts of Okehampton. Having opened in 2008 as a butchers shop and have since expanded enlarging the shop adding a deli counter, a cafe, and most recently, a bakery. The core business of the shop remains the butchery.

Beef and lamb are produced on the family farm, pork and chicken and from other local producers. There is a large hanging room where all the meat is butchered to a high standard, with almost zero waste. They also make all of their own sausages and cure their own bacon at Alfordon Farms.

https://farmerluxtons.co.uk (opens in new tab)

Company benefits

Free car parking, uniform and staff discount of 15% within the business.

After this apprenticeship

Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship. Find out about potential future pay (opens in new tab).

This apprenticeship could be the route to long term employment within this business.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

CORNWALL COLLEGE

Lucy Linthwaite

lucy.linthwaite@cornwall.ac.uk

01209 616380

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000063489.

Apply now

Closes in 19 days (Monday 30 November 2026 at 11:59pm)