Claire Byrne is a part of Excel Recruitment’s award-winning grocery retail recruitment team specialising in butcher recruitment. Here, she discusses what the current butcher jobs market looks like….
Like patio furniture during a heatwave, butchers are in high demand.
Consumers increasingly want to eat better meat and know more about the meat they are eating. Not only where it’s from, but how to cook it, how to eat it, what cuts will work best for them or go further for their family. A knowledgeable butcher is key to this education.
Covid has only accelerated this, but few could have predicted just how much. People are having to eat at home at levels never seen before, and are embracing it, investing the time and effort into cooking.
Customers and store managers, from independents to nationwide supermarkets, are more and more recognising the importance of having a great butcher or butchers on their team.
What does this mean for butchers on the jobs market?
Basically, it has never been a better time to be a butcher. As fresh food categories boom, butchers are highly sought after and aware of the salaries they can gain on the job market.
Employers are seeing in real-time how customers respond to having great butchers in-store and what this means for sales. Adding to this is a tighter talent market which employers are working hard to address. Our grocery clients are working to not retain the butcher talent they have but also to attract more to their business.
Salaries and pay rates are more flexible and reflective of the value butchers bring to the business. Outside of salary, the best employers are looking at the whole package and work culture. They are want to invest in their careers of their butcher team, providing more opportunities to learn, gain new skills and move up in the business. Work is also being around work-life balance and creating a great team culture.
Butchery is a skilled job, requiring years of training and a high level of dedication. More and more employers are recognising this and the opportunities for a butcher looking for a new job are endless.
At Excel, it couldn’t be easier to find butcher jobs, simply give me a call on 01-8717613 and I’ll take care of the rest! To view any of our live grocery jobs, click here.
