Apprentice Butchers or Meat Cutters must first be hired by a company that has signed an agreement with the Joint Apprenticeship Committee. This training is supplemented with a minimum of 144 hours each year of related classroom training. Standards relating to both job performance and classroom work must be met before journey-level status will be granted. Most employers prefer apprentices who have completed high school. Helpful high school courses include mathematics and any shop courses that develop skill in the use of hand and power tools.
Some firms give an arithmetic test to applicants.
In general, apprentices must be at least eighteen years old. Butchers and Meat Cutters who begin work as trainees in independent shops can gain necessary skills. Ex-military cooks and butchers, adapting to civilian standards, may shorten their civilian apprenticeship periods. Physical strength is often needed to lift and move heavy pieces of meat. Butchers and fish cleaners who wait on customers should have a pleasant personality, a neat appearance, and the ability to communicate clearly.