TRAINING SCHEME OF THE YEAR

Scottish Craft Butchers are delighted Scottish Meat Training has been named the 2014 Training Scheme of the Year by Meat Management Magazine.

Douglas Scott Chief Executive of Scottish Meat Training said:-
"We are thrilled to have this national recognition. When we quietly get on with doing our job effectively it is nice when someone else takes note and takes the trouble to nominate us for such a prestigious award. The award is something that the assessors, internal verifiers and administrators at Scottish Meat Training will take great pride in receiving.”

The Awards Brochure produced in June 2014, Meat Management Magazine described the organisation as follows:-

"Scottish Meat Training (SMT) is the training arm of the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Associations. For more than twenty five years, they have successfully delivered training to the retail and wholesale meat industry in Scotland.

Scottish Meat Training currently has 252 trainees undertaking level 2 and level 3 Modern Apprenticeships in Food and Drink Operations across Scotland – from Lockerbie to Lerwick. Contrary to views sometimes expressed, training places in the meat industry are in great demand and we surpassed our anticipated intake of 156 trainees for the contract year ended 31 March 2014.

SMT helps source funding for companies looking to employ young people as apprentices – where possible – and also provide a tailor made course for each and every trainee. SMT have a small dedicated team of five assessors, one Internal Verifier, Chief Executive and administration staff who make this all possible.

In 2013/2014 it had 92 trainees achieve their Modern Apprenticeship, 15 Craft Certificates and 3 Federation Diplomas. 46 entrants from throughout Scotland battled out the 2013 Meat Skills Scotland competition, the final of which was watched by a huge audience at the Scottish Meat Trade Fair.

The sector received a huge boost when Skills Development Scotland decided an apprentice working in a butcher`s business in Shetland was the best apprentice across all in industries in Scotland.

Since January 2013, in conjunction with Verner Wheelock, SMT has successfully run courses for Meat Managers HACCP & Hygiene in Wick, Braehead, Dunfermline, Kilmarnock, Kirkcudbright, Orkney, Inverness and Newhouse. Over 80 candidates undertook the popular one-day course with one candidate’s feedback sheet saying it was the “best course that they had ever been on”!

• LINK TO MEAT MANAGEMENT AWARDS BROCHURE