How you educate your customer — without being patronising

If you are considering becoming a gourmet butcher, it is good to know exactly what you are getting into. The education is a vocational education, and it is built up of a basic course at a vocational school and a main course where you alternate between school stays and work at an apprenticeship. Here you get to go through the entire course so you know what the sequence is and what awaits you.

§The three parts of the qualification

The first thing you encounter is the two parts of the basic course. Basic course 1 is for you who come more or less directly from primary school, and here you get a taste of an entire subject area before you make your final choice. Basic course 2 is aimed at the butcher trade and prepares you to start in a company. Then comes the main course, which is the longest and most specialised part, where you truly become a butcher.

§Alternation between school and apprenticeship

What's special about a vocational education is that you don't just sit at school. In the main program you alternate between periods where you are at vocational school learning theory and technique and periods where you work in a real butcher shop or production. This means you can constantly take what you learn at school out into practice — and conversely come back with questions from everyday life.

§How long does it take?

The total duration depends on which path you take and which specialty you choose. Including basic courses 1 and 2 the qualification lies in a range of around two and a half years and up to well over four years. If you already have experience or are an adult, your program can be shortened because earlier education and work can count.

• 01The shortest course leads to the title gourmet butcher without one of the longer specializations.
• 02If you choose a specialty such as retail or delicatessen, the programme becomes longer.
• 03Adults over a certain age usually follow a tailored path where the duration is adapted.
• 04Previous relevant education and experience can give credit and shorten the course.

§Entry requirements and admission

To start the basic course you normally must have completed primary school and meet a grade requirement in Danish and mathematics. If you don't meet the requirement there are typically other ways in for example via an entrance exam and interview. If you are an adult there is a special entry where your background weighs heavier than grades.

When you understand the sequence — basic course apprenticeship main course and journeyman's test — planning becomes much easier. The most important advice is starting early to find an apprenticeship because it's what binds the entire course together.

“School and workshop go hand in hand — you learn the profession by using it while learning it.”