Six Welsh butchers will be aiming to show that they are a cut above the rest when they compete in the Wales heat of the Butchery WorldSkills UK National Competition next weekend.
Award-winning, Welshpool-based training provider Cambrian Training Company, which has been appointed to organise the butchery competition on behalf of WorldSkills UK, is delighted with the number and quality of entries from butchers across Wales, England and Northern Ireland.
Three regional heats have been organised, starting with the Wales heat at Randall Parker Foods, Dolwen, Llanidloes on Sunday, May 17. The Northern Ireland heat will be held at Southern Regional College, Newry on June 18 and the England heat at Leeds City College on July 9.
This heat is being sponsored by The National Federation of Meat and Food Traders, Institute of Meat, PBEX and Randall Parker Foods.
The six top scoring butchers from the combined three heats will 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.
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.
The line-up for the Wales heat is: Tomi Jones, 24, of Jones Brothers, Wrexham, Daniel John Allen-Raftery, 31, of Randall Parker, Llanidloes, Matthew Edwards, 23, of Vaughan’s Family Butchers, Penyffordd, Peter Rushforth, 19, of Swans Farm Shop, Mold, Dafydd Jenkings, 21, of Ken Davies Butchers, Crymych and Clinton Roberts, 58, of Ponty Butchers, Pontardawe.
It promises to be a closely contested heat as Rushforth is defending champion of the Welsh Young Butcher Competition, a title that both Jones and Edwards have won in the past. Last year, Edwards represented Great Britain in a European butchery competition and Rushforth will follow in his footsteps later this year.
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 meat industry consultant Viv 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.
“We are delighted that so many talented butchers from across the United Kingdom have entered this new competition, which will showcase the wealth of butchery skills that we possess on these islands,” said Chris Jones, Cambrian Training Company’s head of curriculum for food manufacture.
“It’s a major step forward for butchery to be represented as a skill at WorldSkills UK, as we believe the craft needs to be benchmarked and promoted. Its inclusion for the first time is a great tool to further raise the industry’s standards and profile.”
For more information please contact Katy Godsell, Cambrian Training Company’s Marketing Manager, on Tel: 01938 555893 email: katy@cambriantraining.com or Duncan Foulkes, public relations consultant, on 01686 650818
