Butcher

Tania Bawden

GO out and get a job was Selena Russell’s advice to her teenage son, Todd Russell. The sole parent from Adelaide’s southern suburbs had “worked hard” to provide for the 15-year-old Christies Beach High School student.

But problems were emerging. “He was not enjoying studying or going to school when the offer of a school-based apprenticeship came up,” Ms Russell says.

“He made the choice himself and, since then, he has been able to grow so much through the program.” The apprenticeship scheme for butchers and bakers started last year with funding from South Australian independent supermarket company Drake Foodmarkets and industry giants Woolworths and Coles Myer.

The program, administered by SA recruitment firm Maxima, aims to give young people the chance to see whether these careers suit them before leaving school.

“So far, 53 young people have taken up the opportunity,” Maxima chief executive Janice Paget says. Of those, 43 have decided to continue their school-based apprenticeship into a second year or leave school to take up the apprenticeship full-time.

“In the past, young people were reluctant to leave school to take up an apprenticesehip in case they discovered after a few months they weren’t suited to it and ended up without a job,” she says.

The new scheme is expanding this year. Offers for a further 40 butcher-baker apprenticeships will go out and the innovative program is being considered by the supermarket chains interstate.

Todd was one of the first indigenous students to be taken into the scheme. Now 16, he says he is looking forward to another year of two days a week out of school – one on the job and another at Regency Park TAFE college.

“I’m starting to really enjoy it now,” he says.
“I like the people and the butchering work, such as cutting up steaks.”
He says he likes to earn a bit of money and “feels like I’m doing something useful”.

Todd says he was close to quitting when his friend dropped out of the scheme. But now he is glad he persevered. “The Aboriginal education worker from Maxima, Garry Barlow, and the meatroom workers, such as Phil Brown and Rhys Manhire, encouraged me to keep going.”

Meanwhile, Drake Foodmarkets meat controller David Knapman says it is difficult to find suitable apprentices to fill more than 100 butchers and meat-packing jobs in the group.

“It’s very hard to get people to do the job nowadays, especially in apprenticeships,” he says. Mr Knapman says young people are slowly starting to realise apprenticeships offer a job for life.

“I think a lot of kids are coming out of school with the idea they need to go to uni and get a degree, say in IT,” he says. “But often if they go down that road, they find there’s not a job at the end of it.” Drake is starting a second group of six school-based apprentices next year on top of 25 existing apprentices.

“There is a terrible shortage of skills and many of these companies are not having any success attracting young people,” Maxima special projects manager Abbie Cerchi says.

For example, she says Woolworths only got two applications after one advertisement for apprentices. “Coles in Melbourne is looking to adapt our program in Victoria,” she says. “People are finding out about the SA school-based program and other states and industry areas, such as food processing, are getting interested.

“It’s been really good to attract young apprentices, some as young as 15.”
A regional pilot scheme, based in Mt Gambier, will seek to recruit much-needed workers for meatworks as well as small butchers and Bakers Delight franchises, She says supermarkets are battling to fill positions in meat and bakery sections.
Ms Cerchi says Todd Russell’s placement at Drake Foodland, at Castle Plaza Shopping Centre, Edwardstown, is “going very well”.

Meanwhile, Todd’s pleased he took up his mum’s advice to go out and get a job, earn some money and “earn some respect”.

Ms Russell says: “I have worked very, very hard throughout my life to provide the best I can for us. I wanted to show Todd you really need to depend upon yourself and there is only one person who will create your future.  You can’t expect it all to be handed to you on a platter.”

Tania Bawden is the editor of The Advertiser newspaper’s CareerOne lift out in Adelaide.  January 28, 2006.