Butchers from Ludlow and Willenhall in the West Midlands are hoping to clinch a place in the Butchery WorldSkills UK National Competition final in November after winning the regional heats for England.
John Brereton, 40, butchery manager at the award-winning Ludlow Food Centre in Ludlow won the afternoon heat while Matthew Parkes, 21, assistant manager for Walter Smith Fine Foods in Willenhall, triumphed in the morning heat.
The England heat was hosted by Leeds City College and the judges praised the very high standards achieved by the nine butchers. Runners up in the heats were Nathan Moore, 21, and George Scott, 19, who are both employed by Walter Smith Fine Foods.
The butchers now face an anxious wait until next month to discover if they are in the six top scoring butchers from the combined Wales, Northern Ireland and England three heats to qualify for the final to be held at The Skills Show, to be held at the NEC Birmingham from November 19 to 21.The Skills Show is the nation’s largest skills and careers event and helps to shape the future of the next generation.
John, who leads a team of apprentices at Ludlow Food Centre, said: “It was a pretty tough competition and there was a lot of talent on display. Although I was pleased with my work, my heart was racing up until they announced heat result and I was overjoyed to win.
“I hope that winning my heat is enough to qualify for the WorldSkills final, which looks like a huge and challenging event. It’s not just about competing, the competition gets you to think outside the box and become more creative.”
Matthew, who has been working with butchers since he was 15, was also delighted to have won his heat but expressed surprise with the result because of the standard of butchery on display.
“I was very happy to win the heat because I was up against some very talented butchers,” he said. “It means a lot to me. My employer prides itself on producing award winning products and butchers and it was nice to see the others lads from the company doing well.
“I still think I could have done some things a bit better and, if I get through to the final, I know my manager will be pushing me more and more. I take pride in my work and feel like I could push myself to the absolute limit to win the competition.”
The other butchers competing in the England heats were: George Brown, Leeds City College, Kevin Reid, Luke Brink and Jack Fisher, Walter Smith Fine Foods and Ben Powell, Reaseheath College. The judges were Viv Harvey, Roger Kelsey and Keith Fisher.
Award-winning, Welshpool-based training provider Cambrian Training Company has been appointed to organise the butchery competition on behalf of WorldSkills UK and the heats were sponsored by The National Federation of Meat and Food Traders, Institute of Meat and PBEX.
WorldSkills UK National Skills Competitions are designed to enhance apprenticeship and training programmes and improve and drive skills in the industry. Butchery is one of more than 60 skills to feature in this year’s competitions.
Cambrian Training Company has brought together the main players in the meat industry to form a steering group to organise the new butchery competition.
Partners include Pearsons, Scottish Federation of Meat Traders, The National Federation of Meat & Food Traders, Institute of Meat, Eblex, Dunbia Ltd, Castell Howell Foods, Leeds City College, Improve - The National Skills Academy for Food & Drink, Hybu Cig Cymru - Meat Promotion Wales, Randall Parker Foods and Mr Harvey.
Having taken butchery apprentices to demonstrate their skills at the Skills Show every year since 2011, Cambrian Training Company was keen to add the vocation to the skills competition to raise the profile of skilful butchers across the UK.
