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Butcher Apprentice Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Staff of Life

Meat Cutter

Watsonville, CA

$16 - $21.25/hr

We are looking for a Meat Cutter with experience, or a hardworking employee interested in being an apprentice to an experienced butcher to grow and learn how to be a Meat Cutter. Job duties include ...

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Butcher Apprentice information

See California salary details

$11

$14

$18

How much do butcher apprentice jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 6, 2026, the average hourly pay for butcher apprentice in California is $14.50, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $13.03 and $16.15 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges a butcher apprentice might face during their training, and how can they overcome them?

As a Butcher Apprentice, you may encounter challenges such as mastering precise knife skills, learning to identify different cuts of meat, and adhering to strict safety and hygiene standards. The fast-paced environment and physical demands of the role can also be an adjustment. Overcoming these challenges involves seeking mentorship from experienced butchers, practicing techniques regularly, and staying attentive to feedback. Building a strong foundation in food safety and maintaining a positive attitude toward continual learning will help you succeed and progress in the trade.

What does a butcher apprentice do?

Butcher apprentices train with professional butchers to learn about the tools and techniques of the trade. You find these apprenticeships at meat preparation and packing plants, retail stores and supermarkets, and some restaurants that prepare their own meats. As a butcher apprentice, you start by observing experienced butchers, learning how to use the various cutting and packaging tools and the different butchering techniques required to cut or grind the meat to specifications. You also learn how to wrap meat properly to preserve freshness, tenderize cuts of meat, stock display cases, and provide customer service at meat counters or in butcher shops. Even while training as a butcher apprentice, you need to adhere to food safety practices for handling and disposing of meat. These apprenticeships often lead to full-time jobs.

What is the difference between Butcher Apprentice vs Meat Cutter?

AspectButcher ApprenticeMeat Cutter
CredentialsOn-the-job training, sometimes certifications in food safetyHigh school diploma, on-the-job training
Work EnvironmentMeat shops, grocery stores, butcheriesGrocery stores, supermarkets, meat markets
Job RoleLearning butchering skills, assisting in meat preparationCutting, trimming, and preparing meat for sale
Industry UsageCommonly used during training stagesFull-time role in meat departments

While both roles involve working with meat, a Butcher Apprentice is in training to become a skilled butcher, focusing on learning techniques and skills. A Meat Cutter is a more experienced worker responsible for cutting and preparing meat for customers. The apprentice role is often a stepping stone towards becoming a Meat Cutter.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a butcher apprentice, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Butcher Apprentice, you need a basic understanding of meat cuts, food safety practices, and a willingness to learn on the job, often supported by a high school diploma or equivalent. Familiarity with knives, saws, grinders, and safety equipment is important, as is knowledge of sanitation standards and possible completion of food handling certification. Attention to detail, strong communication, and good physical stamina are valuable soft skills in this role. These skills and qualities ensure safe, efficient meat processing and excellent customer service, which are crucial for success in the industry.

What does a butcher apprentice do?

A butcher apprentice works under the supervision of experienced butchers to learn the skills needed for cutting, trimming, and preparing meat for sale or further processing. Their duties often include assisting with receiving and inspecting meat deliveries, cleaning and maintaining equipment, and learning how to break down carcasses and portion meat cuts. They also help ensure that all food safety and hygiene standards are followed. Over time, apprentices gain hands-on experience in knife skills, customer service, and inventory management. This role is essential for those wishing to advance to a full butcher position.
More about Butcher Apprentice jobs
What are the most commonly searched types of Butcher jobs in California? The most popular types of Butcher jobs in California are:
What are popular job titles related to Butcher Apprentice jobs in California? For Butcher Apprentice jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Butcher Apprentice jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Butcher Apprentice jobs in California are:
What cities in California are hiring for Butcher Apprentice jobs? Cities in California with the most Butcher Apprentice job openings:
Butcher Apprentice jobs near you
Infographic showing various Butcher Apprentice job openings in California as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 90% Full Time, 9% Part Time, and 1% Contract. Highlights an 99% Physical, and 1% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $30,162 per year, or $14.5 per hour.

Talent Acquisition Manager

Butcher Power Products

Rancho Cordova, CA • On-site

Other

Posted 4 days ago

Job description

Butcher Power Products (BPP) designs and manufactures mission‑critical and industrial power solutions for essential infrastructure nationwide. Headquartered in Sacramento, CA, our teams collaborate closely across engineering, manufacturing, and operations to build reliable, high‑quality systems and take pride in delivering work that truly matters.
Position Summary
We are hiring a Recruiting Manager to lead Talent Acquisition and build a recruiting team that can support significant workforce growth across manufacturing, engineering, operations, technical, and leadership roles.
Recruiting at BPP is a direct driver of business growth, not a support function. You will own recruiting strategy, recruiting operations, ATS workflows and analytics, employer branding, and pipeline development, and you will lead a team of three recruiters. You will also help build the repeatable systems that let us scale from roughly 150 employees today toward 600 plus over the next two years.
This is a player-coach role. Depending on team capacity and requisition load, you will carry full-cycle recruiting on select key and hard-to-fill roles yourself, particularly leadership, engineering, and specialized technical searches. We want a leader who is still willing to run a search end to end when the business needs it.
You will report to the Director of HR & Talent and work daily with hiring managers across every function.
What You Will Do
Lead the recruiting team
  • Coach, develop, and mentor a team of three recruiters
  • Set recruiting priorities, workload distribution, and performance expectations
  • Run regular pipeline reviews, requisition reviews, and recruiting strategy sessions
  • Build a team culture centered on urgency, quality, accountability, and candidate experience
Own recruiting strategy and workforce planning support
  • Partner with leadership on hiring needs, workforce plans, skill gaps, and growth requirements
  • Develop recruiting strategies for manufacturing, skilled trades, engineering, operations, leadership, and corporate roles
  • Bring talent market insight and compensation feedback to hiring decisions
  • Identify recruiting risk early and solve for it before it stalls the business
Run full-cycle recruiting operations
  • Oversee recruiting from requisition intake through offer acceptance and onboarding handoff
  • Establish consistent practices for sourcing, screening, interviewing, evaluation, and offers
  • Hold hiring managers to clear requirements, timely feedback, and strong candidate communication
  • Carry a personal requisition load on key, executive, and hard-to-fill searches as team capacity requires
  • Partner with HR Operations for clean transitions from accepted offer to Day One
Own recruiting technology and analytics
  • Serve as business owner for the ATS, recruiting workflows, dashboards, and reporting
  • Track and report on time-to-fill, time-to-start, offer acceptance rate, source effectiveness, pipeline health, hiring manager responsiveness, and recruiter productivity
  • Build recruiting reporting that supports workforce planning and executive decision-making
  • Use the data to remove recurring bottlenecks
Build talent pipelines
  • Develop relationships with universities, trade schools, workforce development organizations, and community partners
  • Own internship and early-career recruiting, including career fairs, outreach, and conversion of top interns to full-time
  • Build proactive pipelines for critical and recurring roles
  • Support employer branding that grows awareness of BPP as an employer of choice
  • Manage agency and vendor relationships as needed
Partner with hiring managers
  • Act as a trusted advisor on recruiting strategy, candidate assessment, and hiring decisions
  • Train managers on interview best practices, structured evaluation, and selection
  • Run effective intake meetings and set realistic hiring timelines grounded in labor market reality

Required Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, or a related field, or equivalent experience
  • 7 or more years of progressive recruiting experience
  • 3 or more years leading or managing a recruiting team
  • Experience recruiting for manufacturing, operations, engineering, skilled trades, technical, or high-volume roles
  • Experience building recruiting processes, workflows, metrics, and reporting
  • Hands-on experience with applicant tracking systems and sourcing platforms
  • Strong sourcing, candidate engagement, and talent attraction skills
  • Ability to influence hiring managers and senior leaders
  • Comfort with a fast-paced, changing, high-growth environment

Desired Qualifications
  • Manufacturing, electrical, industrial, construction, or technical recruiting experience
  • Recruiting leadership experience in a high-growth company
  • Experience building or maturing an internal recruiting function
  • ATS optimization, or administration experience
  • Experience building internship, apprenticeship, university recruiting, or workforce development programs
  • Experience building recruiting dashboards or executive-level hiring reporting

A Note on the Role
This is a build-and-scale role. Some processes are still being developed and priorities shift as we grow. Success here takes strong judgment, collaboration, ownership, and a bias toward improving things.
Every role on this team is expected to scale as the company does. As headcount grows, so do the teams, the scope, and the leadership opportunities. If you want to look back in a few years at an HR organization you helped build rather than one you inherited, this is that opportunity.
CompensationThe base pay range for this role is $140,000 – $155,000 per year.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Butcher Power Products is an equal opportunity employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.
If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please let us know.
Compensation ranges are provided in accordance with applicable state and local pay transparency laws.

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