Butcher
Role lens
Butchers order, inspect and buy meat to prepare it and sell it as consumable meat products. They perform activities such as cutting, trimming, boning, tying, and grinding beef, pork, and poultry meat. They prepare those mentioned sorts of meat for consumption.
Butchers are skilled professionals who are responsible for the entire process of meat preparation and sales. Your day might involve inspecting deliveries, selecting the best cuts, expertly cutting, trimming, and preparing various meats like beef, pork, and poultry. You’ll also be involved in grinding meat, creating specialty products, and ensuring all products meet quality and safety standards. This role requires precision, attention to detail, and a strong understanding of meat types and cuts.
- • Ordering, inspecting, and purchasing meat supplies.
- • Cutting, trimming, boning, and tying different types of meat.
- • Grinding meat and preparing sausages or other processed meat products.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Figures cover Food processing, wood working, garment and other craft and related trades workers — 115 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and 13 more.
Longest-running shortage: France, 4 years.
Where it is regulated, your qualification would need formal recognition before you could practise.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person’s chances. It describes a market.
Reported demand · Typical pay · Where it is heading (United States, Ireland, Australia, Malta, United Kingdom)
| Reported demand | Typical pay | Where it is heading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not reported | $40,140 2025-05 | +1% 2024–2034 · BLS 2024-2034 |
| Ireland | Not reported | — | +7.9% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| Australia | Shortage reported Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 * | — | — |
| Malta | Shortage reported ELA/EURES 2024 * | — | — |
| United Kingdom | Not reported | £27,929 2025-provisional | — |
* Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS)
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Open Government Licence v3.0
Do you guide students, clients or employees? Use this occupation data in your organisation.
Future Outlook for butcher
The outlook for butcher reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could butcher change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Model-based estimate. Use it as a planning signal, not a guarantee.
Compare this to your profile
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- tolerate strong smells
- provide first aid
- ensure refrigeration of food in the supply chain
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- monitor stock level
- ensure sanitation
- mark differences in colours
Tasks most exposed to automation
- maintain food specifications
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Agriculture
A typical day as a butcher
09 09:00 · Morning handle knives for cutting activities
10 10:30 · Mid-morning apply GMP
12 12:00 · Midday apply preservation treatments
14 14:00 · Afternoon apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages
15 15:30 · Late afternoon ensure refrigeration of food in the supply chain
17 17:00 · Wrap-up follow an environmental friendly policy while processing food
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
What you need to do this work
The skills, knowledge and tools this role calls for — and the traits and rewards that come with it.
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process livestock organs
Process livestock organs and other byproducts for meat manufacturing processes. Remove organs from carcasses and perform activities such as cutting or dividing parts, washing organs, execute specific treatments, packaging, and labelling.
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tend meat processing production machines
Operate production equipment and tools to process meat and meat products.
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operate meat processing equipment
Operate meat processing equipment for meat preparations and prepared meat products.
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grind meat
Use various types of machinery to grind animal parts into minced meat. Avoid the inclusion of bone splinters in the product. Maintain the meat grinding machine.
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tolerate strong smells
Tolerate strong smells expelled by the goods being processed during the production of goods.
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cope with blood
Cope with blood, organs, and other internal parts without feeling distressed.
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work in cold environments
Work in cold storage and deep freeze facilities. Cooling rooms are around 0°C. Resist temperatures of-18°C in meat processing freezer facilities as required by law, except for the slaughterhouse, where room working temperatures are below 12°C by law.
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handle knives for cutting activities
Use various types of knives and cutters used in the cutting, deboning and slaughtering process. Use techniques for the usage of the knives. Selects the right knives for the job at hand. Take care of the knives.
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handle knives for meat processing activities
Handle knives for meat processing activities. Use the correct knives and cutting instruments for meat preparations, prepared meat products, or meat products made by a butcher.
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split animal carcasses
Separate animal carcasses and organs into larger subsections such as head and limbs, debone and cut them.
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apply preservation treatments
Apply common treatments to preserve the characteristics of food products taking care of their appearance, smell and taste.
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prepare meat for sale
Prepare meat for sale or cooking which comprise the seasoning, larding, or marinating of the meat, but not the actual cooking.
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prepare specialised meat products
Prepare specialised meat products, minced meat, salt-cured meat, smoked meat, and other meat preparations such as pickled meat, sausages, crumbed meat, veal olive, and chipolata.
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ensure refrigeration of food in the supply chain
Apply different procedures to maintain the chain of temperature of foodstuffs and products in each stage of the production and supply chain.
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monitor temperature in manufacturing process of food and beverages
Monitor and control required temperatures in the different phases of production until the product reaches suitable properties according to specifications.
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mark differences in colours
Identify differences between colours, such as shades of colour.
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trace meat products
Take the regulations regarding the traceability of final products within the sector into account.
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apply HACCP
Apply regulations regarding manufacture of food and food safety compliance. Employ food safety procedures based on Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP).
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follow hygienic procedures during food processing
Ensure a clean working space according to hygienic standards in the food processing industry.
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apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages
Apply and follow national, international, and internal requirements quoted in standards, regulations and other specifications related with manufacturing of food and beverages.
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apply GMP
Apply regulations regarding manufacture of food and food safety compliance. Employ food safety procedures based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
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ensure sanitation
Keep workspaces and equipment free from dirt, infection, and disease by removing waste, trash and providing for appropriate cleaning.
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provide first aid
Administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation or first aid in order to provide help to a sick or injured person until they receive more complete medical treatment.
animal anatomy for food production
The anatomy of animals, their organs and their functions, as well as the usage of these organs for food production after slaughtering.
cultural practices regarding animal parts sorting
The religious and cultural practices regarding animal parts sorting as to not mix meat parts with other parts that may inhibit religion practitioners from eating the meat.
food storage
The proper conditions and methods to store food to keep it from spoiling, taking into account humidity, light, temperature and other environmental factors.
legislation about animal origin products
The applicable legal rules on temperature, waste materials, traceability, labelling, trading, and the transport of animal origin products.
warm blooded animal organs
The difference between white and red organs of warm blooded animals and their position in the body. A white organ can be the stomach, red organs can be the heart, the liver, or the lungs. The norms to treat these organs properly.
food allergies
The types of food allergies within the sector, which substances trigger allergies, and how they can be replaced or eliminated (if possible).
Path to become a butcher
What it typically takes to qualify: education level, where it is a regulated profession, and where to study.
Upper secondary education
Regulated in 11 countries on record. Minimum EQF 3–4, depending on the country.
Reflects the EU regulated-professions database. Not legal advice — confirm requirements with the relevant national authority before relying on this for a career or immigration decision.
The closest officially recognised professional qualification in the Flemish qualification structure:
- Slager Flemish level 4
A closest match, not an exact equivalent: a qualification is often narrower than the occupation. Source: AHOVOKS, Flemish government (Kwalificatiedatabank), reused under the Flemish Open Licence for free reuse.
137 programmes in 21 countries teach the core skills of this job. Plus 104 short courses that build single skills.
A few examples, taught in the language of this page:
Koulutuskeskus Salpaus · Finland
South Africa
Butcher - Sausage Maker (Students with Developmental Disabilities - Deaf and Hard of Hearing)
Serbia
Professional Butchery
Technological University Dublin · Ireland
These are 6 of 241.
Sources
- 1. Source: Opintopolku.fi (Finnish National Agency for Education)
- 2. Source: South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), All Qualifications and Unit Standards (allqs.saqa.org.za).
- 3. Source: YÖK Atlas, Council of Higher Education (yokatlas.yok.gov.tr).
- 4. Source: Study in Serbia, an initiative of Foundation Tempus (bazaobrazovanja.rs).
- 5. Source: Study in Korea, National Institute for International Education (NIIED) (studyinkorea.go.kr).
- 6. Source: Europass Qualification Dataset Register (European Commission)
Growth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does butcher fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
For organisations
The data on this page, working for your students, clients and staff.
Frequently asked questions
What skills are important to succeed as a butcher?
Is there a formal apprenticeship or training program for butchers?
What kind of work environment can I expect as a butcher?
How much does Butcher pay in the United States?
Is Butcher a regulated profession?
Sources: ESCO O*NET ELA/EURES Cedefop BLS Data updated October 3, 2026 About our data