In this Butchers CPD Guide
Why do Butchers need CPD?
A butcher is a person who sells meat such as beef, pork, lamb, poultry, game and other meats. They provide high-quality meats to customers through their expertise in selecting, preparing and cutting meat. Anybody in the UK who eats meat will have had the support of a butcher in preparing their meat at some point during the production process. This can be through a direct service, where the customer may go into a butcher’s shop to purchase their products, or by being supported indirectly. Meat can be obtained in supermarkets and in restaurants for the public to consume. Even though the end customer has not had direct contact with the butcher, a butcher will have been involved in preparing, storing, cutting and supplying the meat to other businesses (this form of butchery can also be described as a meat process worker). This makes butchers both a business-to-customer and a business-to-business service. They also play an important role in supporting local farmers and promoting sustainable and ethical farming practices.
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What CPD courses do Butchers need?
There are many courses that butchers can do to support them in their working role. Factors to be considered to stay up to date and perform well in the industry include customer service, food hygiene, animal welfare and business skills. Food hygiene is especially important because it is a legal requirement for anybody who handles food. Food hygiene is crucial for butchers because they handle raw meat, which can contain harmful bacteria that can cause foodborne illnesses if not handled properly. Contaminated meat can also lead to cross-contamination of other foods, potentially causing the further spread of harmful bacteria. Therefore, maintaining high levels of food hygiene is essential to ensure the safety and quality of meat products for both the butcher and the consumer.
At CPD Online College, we offer many courses that are well suited to butchers including:
Complaints Handling – this course will provide knowledge on handling complaints in the correct way to reduce the risk of lost custom for your business. Anyone providing a product or service can receive complaints, including butchers. You can learn how to handle complaints in the correct way and reduce the number you receive.
Food Safety and Hygiene for Retail – this course covers different food outlets and will develop your knowledge of food hygiene including safe preparation and storage (which is crucial for butchers). This course will cover all legal requirements for butchers such as personal hygiene, cleaning of premises, food contamination, hazards, and the safe preparation of food.
Workplace First Aid – this course supports designated first-aiders in the workplace covering an introduction to first aid, and how to administer CPR and treat injuries.
RIDDOR Awareness – this course covers everything related to reporting injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences. It will include employee responsibilities as well as when to report accidents and how records of accidents should be kept.
Pest Control – this course will explain what a pest is, the different types of pests, how to identify the signs of a pest infestation, and different types of pest control.
Improving Your Food Hygiene Rating – the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme applies to all food businesses in the UK. This course will help you to understand more about the scheme, the role of environmental health officer inspections, the benefits of good food hygiene ratings, and the consequences of poor food hygiene ratings.
Customer Service in Retail – this course will equip you with the skills and knowledge to provide excellent customer service and what implications bad customer service can have on your business and customers. Different types of communication methods will also be explored, as well as visual cues when interacting with people.
Download our CPD trackerA guide to CPD for Butchers
According to UK statistics, there were 6,000 butchers in the UK as of 2021. Butchers in the UK must follow strict regulations regarding food safety, hygiene, labelling and traceability. They must register their business with the relevant local authority, ensure that their premises are clean and well-maintained, and implement proper procedures for handling and storing meat. Additionally, they must comply with animal welfare laws and obtain necessary certifications for handling and selling meat products.
Continuing professional development can help butchers to meet these requirements. As well as this, it can provide them with opportunities to learn new techniques, stay up to date with industry trends, improve their product knowledge, and enhance their customer service skills. This can lead to increased efficiency, higher quality products, and a better overall customer experience.
What counts towards CPD?
There are many different types of CPD training activities that can count towards your CPD. Having a variety of CPD activities can help to form a holistic portfolio of training which can ensure that you continue to learn about all parts of the industry. As well as completing our CPD training courses you could also take a practical course to practise butchery skills, or complete a workshop with your customer service knowledge, or work with a mentor to help improve your business. Research, e-learning, reading books, and watching tutorials can all count towards your CPD requirements.
Logging CPD hours
Whichever CPD training activities you choose to complete they should be logged to form part of the hours spent on learning. Keeping track of your time spent on CPD activities is often a requirement for butchers that can help them to complete enough learning each year. You can log your CPD hours simply by keeping a diary of the days and hours that you spend on each activity during the year. Then at the end of the year you can add these up to submit your completed CPD hours.
Keeping evidence
Our CPD courses are not timed, so we advise all of our participants to track how much time they spend on the course materials and also the time spent on the end of course quiz, so that they have a combined number of hours spent on course learning. You will receive a certificate upon successful completion of any of our CPD training courses, but we understand that a lot of work goes into obtaining the course certificate. Logging the total time spent on the course will capture all your learning efforts and show the time spent obtaining your CPD certificate. You will receive your CPD certificate from us immediately at the end of your course to add straight into your CPD evidence folder. This will be sent electronically, but we can also send you a hard copy of your certificate.
Renewing CPD certificates
You should keep your CPD certificates, along with any other CPD training evidence, so that you are aware of when your CPD must be renewed. Most of the time, your CPD certificates should be renewed once every two years so that you stay up to date with the latest industry knowledge and trends to stay competitive in your market. At CPD Online College, we can send you reminder emails when your course certificate renewals are due to make the process as easy as possible.
