In Denmark all the supermarkets and the private butcher shops are using skilled retail butchers. The education as butcher is divided into an industrial version for the slaughter houses/deboning plants and one especially for the butcher shops. The education takes 3½ years and is a combination of 25 % of practical/theoretical education at the college and 75 % of the time as apprentice (paid a decent salary) in a butcher shop, with whom the apprentice has an official employment contract.

The education is regularly adjusted according to the needs of the business and in cooperation with the companies, and today it contains , besides the classical knowledge of cutting and de boning, elements such as preparation of convenience food, customer service and advise of preparation and accompaniment to a meal – many people do not know how to cook properly and are able to “kill” any good piece of meat - good advice creates additional sales. 

It also means that people who would like to become a cook, but who dislike the work hours of same, have the opportunity to combine a butcher education with the ambitions of preparing attractive meals and to be in the front line with costumers..

Our college – The Danish Meat Trade College – (www.ucr.dk/_FrontPage) has full scale training facilities with own slaughter house, cutting and deboning and sausage making as well as a 200 m2 butcher shop where training takes place open for public, in order to create realistic environment during time at the college.

We believe that there will still be educated butchers in the future, since it is adding value with high quality and customer service and attracts costumers to the super market. It is a very well paid job which also includes professional pride to the educated butchers.

The good private butcher shops have well developed concepts which include take away food, weekly dinner packages, party food etc.

Also have a look at http://danskeslagtermestre.dk/ - the association of private butchers, and http://www.madmedmere.dk/forside/, marketing umbrella supported by same association . It is in Danish but google translate works well.