Professional Butchery Techniques: How to Become a Butcher

If you’re wondering how to become a butcher in Ontario or elsewhere in Canada, there are a couple of steps you can take to make yourself the ideal candidate. While it’s possible to simply apply for a butchery job without any post-secondary education, having some training and a certificate in professional butchery will make you a favourable candidate.

Get a Certificate

If you’re looking to make a career out of butchery, you’ll want further education on how to do that. The Professional Butchery Techniques program will help you excel not just at the meat-cutting aspect of butchery, but also the different aspects of either running a business or working day to day in the profession. You’ll be prepared to move your career onward and upward when opportunities arise. Additionally, having the certification will put you above other candidates when it comes to applying for jobs and put you at the top of the pay grade for butchers.

About the Course

The Professional Butchery Techniques program at Fanshawe is very accessible. To apply, you need your Ontario Secondary School Diploma or equivalent. The course takes eight months to complete and is split into two semesters. Over two-thirds of the content is delivered via hands-on practical experience, supported by theory courses. With a variety of meat-cutting labs to help you score that practical experience, and business, writing, and marketing courses, you’ll be ready for more than just a job in butchery; you’ll have the foundational skills needed for running a meat-cutting business. Fanshawe’s Professional Butchery Techniques program is the only one of its kind in Ontario.

After the Course

The course provides multiple pathways for you to proceed when you’ve completed it.

• If you’re interested in learning more about culinary skills, you can supplement your knowledge with the Culinary Skills Program which you will be able to take with a lighter courseload after the Professional Butchery Techniques program and complete both programs with just 16 months of education. 
• You can also follow up the Professional Butchery Techniques program with a postgraduate certificate in Food Processing - Operational Leadership to obtain a supervisory career in a food plant. 
• Lastly, you can also move seamlessly into a retail meat cutter apprenticeship program by applying the 540 hours of practical experience you’ll gain at Fanshawe to your apprenticeship hours.

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Job Opportunities

There is a shortage of butchers in the Ontario market right now, especially in the Farm Belt, meaning the job prospects for a career in butchery are good, whether you’re looking for work in a grocery store, or hoping to start your own business. The field is not only undersaturated but also growing, so there will continue to be opportunities in the future.

Job postings are typically full-time postings with things like benefits and RSP contributions, and if you obtain a position in a grocery store, there are often unions as well which offer job security, seniority and leverage. Given the job market and the nature of full-time work, butchery offers a fulfilling, stable career with skills that are transferable anywhere in the world.

Learn more about the professional butchery techniques program