The butchery trade today — workplaces, job opportunities and future

The butchery trade extends far beyond the counter in the local shop. Behind the meat that ends up on the plate lies an entire industry of slaughterhouses, processing plants and export — and butchers work in every step. Here you get a picture of where the jobs are and which direction the trade is moving in.

§Where do butchers work?

With a butcher education in the industry track the typical workplaces are the larger slaughterhouses and meat-producing companies both cooperatively and privately owned as well as companies that process and export meat products. These are workplaces where work flows steadily often in shifts and where efficiency and hygiene go hand in hand.

• 01Larger slaughterhouses and slaughterhouses
• 02Cooperatively owned and private meat companies
• 03Refinement and export businesses
• 04Companies with industrial meat production

§How do the job prospects look?

Opportunities vary from region to region and year to year. In some places and periods there is good demand for skilled hands, in other places it is more mixed. However, a skilled butcher with control over hygiene, quality and practical craftsmanship is a sought-after employee, because the trade requires both routine and care that is not learned in a day.

§A trade in transition

The craft is not without concerns. There has been debate in the industry about declining student numbers and how to ensure handcraft is passed on to new generations. When fewer are trained, it can in time become harder for companies to find skilled workers — and that's one reason the industry and schools work to make the craft visible and attractive to young people.

§Technology and the future

The industry automates parts of production and it changes the work: some routine tasks are taken over by machines while the need for people who can operate, monitor and quality-assure grows. At the same time there is increasing focus on animal welfare, sustainability and better utilisation of raw materials. For you this means that the trade will continue to demand slaughterers who both know the craft and understand the machines and requirements that come with it.

§What does it mean for your choice?

A trade in change is not a trade in danger — it is a trade that needs new people. If you choose butcher, you choose a craft that is hard to automate entirely away, because it requires hands, eyes and professional judgement. And because fewer are trained, your qualified profile can become extra valuable in the years to come.