Fanshawe College

College Certificate in Professional Butchery Techniques

• Process the beef front quarter, beef hindquarter, a side of pork, a carcass of lamb, a side of veal, and various types of poultry into wholesale and retail cuts;
• Practice procedures used to control foodborne illness in compliance with recognized industry standards, food service laws, and government regulations;
• Provide quality customer service by responding to inquiries about basic cooking, food safety, and carving techniques and identifying health and safety issues;
• Determine markups and markdowns and profit and loss related to the retail meat-cutting industry;
• Select the appropriate packaging material for different products to ensure safety and scalability;
• Select parts of the animal carcass for retail cuts of meat based on bone, fat, and muscle structures, and dispose of abnormalities in a safe and sterile manner;
• Demonstrate safe working practices and the safe set up, breakdown, operation, and maintenance of tools and equipment in accordance with health and safety regulations;
• Fabricate fresh sausage using industry-specific equipment;
• Develop value-added products, such as spice rubs, marinades, and stuffed and/or breaded meat products to support sales in a retail operation;
• Identify and label meat products to comply with Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulations;
• Receive and store meat products in a safe and orderly manner to meet industry standards for quality and safety;

Level 1

• Safe Work Practices
• Reason and Writing 1-Tourism/Hospitality
• Nomenclature and Labelling
• Meat Cutting Practicum 1
• Meat Cutting Practicum 2
• Meat Cookery
• Retail Meat Operations 1

Level 2

• Meat Science
• Math for Hospitality
• Marketing and Industry Trends
• Business Foundations
• Meat Cutting Practicum 3
• Meat Processing Practicum
• Retail Meat Operations 2

Meat cutting is a unique, specialized, and highly in-demand trade that offers plenty of job opportunities upon graduating from this one-year program. Jobs include retail or wholesale butchers, industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers, ham cutters, meat trimmers, and more.

Here are some examples of career opportunities for graduates of Fanshawe’s Professional Butchery Techniques program:

Industrial Butcher

Working well with others you will have excellent hand-eye coordination and decision-making skills to excel in this position.

Meat Cutter

From Cutting, trimming, and preparing standard cuts of meat to training other meat cutters, the possibilities are endless.

Meat Manager

Create a coaching and development culture for all employees who embrace a passion for meat.