Retail Butchers and Smallgoods Project

Apprenticeships and traineeships in retail butchery and smallgoods are a vital entry point into the meat industry – building job-ready skills, delivering real workplace experience, and supporting employers to grow the next generation of skilled workers.

Skills Insight and MINTRAC are undertaking this project to update the Certificate III qualifications for retail butchers and smallgoods operators, so they align with contemporary requirements of industry trades and qualification design.

Click across the tabs to view active and completed project stages. Consultation takes place at every stage of the project.

These training products are critical to apprenticeships and traineeships across retail butchery and smallgoods. The project will begin with workforce functional analysis (WFA) to confirm current trade roles, regulatory requirements, visa eligibility and skill needs. You are invited to contribute by participating in a WFA workshop.

Project scope and purpose

This project will review and potentially revise training package products for retail butchers and smallgoods apprenticeships to better reflect industry needs and training package requirements. Updates will be based on recommendations from workforce functional analysis and must be carried out in accordance with the 2025 Training Package Organising Framework (TPOF 2025) and relevant policy requirements.

This project is part of the third stage of a broader initiative to update the entire AMP Australian Meat Processing Training Package.

Documents for review include:

three qualifications


AMP30815 Certificate III in Meat Processing (Retail Butcher)

AMP30916 Certificate III in Meat Processing (Smallgoods – General)

AMP31016 Certificate III in Meat Processing (Smallgoods – Manufacture)

one skill set


AMPSS00005 Basic Meat Industry Skill Set

sixty-six units


AMPR201 Break and cut product using a bandsaw

AMPR202 Provide advice on cooking and storage of meat products

AMPR203 Select, weigh and package meat for sale

AMPR204 Package products using manual packing and labelling equipment

AMPR205 Use basic methods of meat cookery

AMPR206 Vacuum pack products in a retail operation

AMPR208 Make and sell sausages

AMPR209 Produce and sell value-added products

AMPR211 Provide advice on meal solutions in a meat retail outlet

AMPR212 Clean meat retail work area

AMPR301 Prepare specialised cuts

AMPR302 Assess carcase or product quality

AMPR303 Calculate yield of carcase or product

AMPR304 Manage stock

AMPR305 Meet customer needs

AMPR306 Provide advice on nutritional role of meat

AMPR307 Merchandise products, services

AMPR308 Prepare, roll, sew and net meat

AMPR309 Bone and fillet poultry

AMPR310 Cost and price meat products

AMPR311 Prepare portion control to specifications

AMPR312 Bone game meat

AMPR313 Order stock in a meat enterprise

AMPR314 Calculate and present statistical data in a meat enterprise

AMPR315 Utilise the Meat Standards Australia system to meet customer requirements

AMPR316 Cure, corn and sell product

AMPR317 Assess and sell poultry products

AMPR318 Break carcase for retail sale

AMPR319 Locate, identify and assess meat cuts

AMPR320 Assess and address customer preferences

AMPR322 Prepare and produce value added products

AMPR323 Break small stock carcases for retail sale

AMPR324 Break large stock carcases for retail sale

AMPR325 Prepare cooked meat product for retail sale

AMPS101 Handle materials and products

AMPS102 Pack smallgoods product

AMPS201 Package product using thermoform process

AMPS203 Operate bar and coder systems

AMPS205 Select, identify and prepare casings

AMPS206 Manually shape and form product

AMPS211 Prepare dry ingredients

AMPS213 Manually link and tie product

AMPS300 Operate mixer or blender unit

AMPS301 Cook, steam and cool product

AMPS302 Prepare dried meat

AMPS303 Fill casings

AMPS304 Thaw product – water

AMPS305 Thaw product – air

AMPS307 Sort meat

AMPS308 Batch meat

AMPS309 Operate product forming machinery

AMPS310 Operate link and tie machinery

AMPS311 Operate complex slicing and packaging machinery

AMPS312 Prepare meat-based pates and terrines for commercial sale

AMPS313 Prepare product formulations

AMPS314 Ferment and mature product

AMPS315 Blend meat product

AMPX201 Prepare and operate bandsaw

AMPX210 Prepare and slice meat cuts

AMPX211 Trim meat to specifications

AMPX213 Despatch meat product

AMPX214 Package meat and smallgoods product for retail sale

AMPX302 Cure and corn product

AMPX303 Break carcase into primal cuts

AMPX304 Prepare primal cuts

AMPX305 Smoke product

Companion Volume and Implementation Guides.


AMP release 8.1 Companion Volume V8.1 February 2025 part 1 of 2 (Implementation Guide)

AMP release 8.1 Companion Volume V8.1 February 2025 part 2 of 2 (Implementation Guide)

Consultation approach

Timeline

Project Team

Mark Wadsworth

Stakeholder Engagement Manager/Project Manager
[email protected]

Michael Williams

Industry Skills Standards contractor

This stage has not yet commenced.

During the development stage, key stakeholders, including subject matter experts, are engaged and consulted to gather further information and begin investigating potential solutions.

This stage has not yet commenced.

At the broad consultation stage, we present and discuss potential solutions, collecting feedback from a wide range of stakeholder across the country. It follows consultation with various stakeholders that has already taken place throughout the project.

This stage has not yet commenced.

As part of consensus gathering, we check our work with stakeholders to confirm that solutions are in line with expectations.

This stage has not yet commenced.

At the finalisation stage, final checks are conducted and the outcomes of the project are submitted to the Department for consideration. Following this, outcomes are published or enacted.

Project background

The AMP Training Package went through a series of small changes between 2015 – 2020 to meet specific industry needs. While carrying out this work, it became apparent that the entire training package required a review. A full review was proposed and is now being completed in several stages to minimise disruption to current apprenticeships and ongoing training and workforce development:

  • Stage one (completed in 2022) focused on the qualifications, skills sets and units that describe general safety, quality assurance and leadership skills for meat processing, which included some of the Certificate III and IV qualifications.
  • Stage two (completed in 2026) entailed review of Certificate III qualifications and related units and skill sets that support accredited training pathways for new entrants.
  • Stage three is being undertaken as two concurrent projects to allow for focused stakeholder engagement. Part A involves review of retail and smallgoods training package products. Part B entails the review meat processing training package products covering skills in boning, food services, slaughtering, livestock handling and packing.