A teenager has won a competition to become an apprentice at an award-winning independent South Cumbrian butchers.
Higginsons of Grange has welcomed Sam Jessett, 16, to the team after he entered a competition and then spent two days at the butchers for work experience.
Sam, of Field Broughton near Grange-over-Sands, said: “I’d always had an interest in butchery from growing up on a small holding, but in my final year at school I was also considering other practical, creative career options such as carpentry or even becoming a chef.”
The former Cartmel Priory School student will work full time in the business while studying towards his NVQ Level 2 apprenticeship in butchery.
The two-year apprenticeship is run by M.E.A.T Ipswich, a specialist training organisation and Sam began it last Wednesday.
Sam added: “After doing the work experience, my interest really grew. The premises and all the different butchery areas was so much bigger than I first expected. Everyone in the team at Higginsons has involved me and I’ve particularly loved learning new knife skills. I think the apprenticeship will help me gain a good understanding of butchery and I’m excited to learn more from my colleagues.”
As well as securing his apprenticeship, Sam also received a monetary prize and a top of the range butchers’ toolkit. The toolkit was provided by the two sponsors of the competition, Dalziel and Starrett, supply chain businesses to the butchery industry. Paul Lewis, of Dalziel, presented Sam with a chain mail glove while Starrett provided a knife set.
Paul said, “We want to see our leading independent butchers like Higginsons continue to thrive for years to come. It’s important that everyone in the industry does what they can to help bring new butchers into the trade. When Mark approached us to support their apprenticeship scheme, we were more than happy to help.”
Mark Porter, managing director of Higginsons said: “We’d like to congratulate Sam on winning our butchery apprenticeship. We hope that he enjoys the apprenticeship programme and fingers crossed he’ll go on to lead a fulfilling career within the industry. Sam is a keen student with a real interest in the whole field to fork process, and our experienced team of talented butchers have already taken him under their wing.
“For us the competition was not only about finding a keen young apprentice but also about raising awareness of butchery as an appealing career choice for school leavers.”
Higginsons are considering taking on more young butchery apprentices in the future. For anyone seeking more information on this, contact the business via email at shop@higginsonsofgrange.co.uk
