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  6. Butchers, Meat Cutters and Fishmongers

Exploring Trades and Occupations

Butchers, Meat Cutters and Fishmongers

On this page

  • Job description
  • Hourly wage
  • Job prospects for 2024-2028
  • Sectors of activity
  • Training and requirements
  • Main skills and characteristics
  • Personality profiles (RIASEC)
  • Additional information

Job description

These individuals prepare regular cuts of meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish. This group includes department heads. They are self-employed or work for:

  • Supermarkets
  • Butcher shops
  • Fish shops

Environment

  • Controlled ambient temperature
  • Equipment, machinery, tools
  • Odours

Main tasks

  • Prepare cuts and assortments of meat, poultry, fish, and shellfish.
  • Chop meat.
  • Shape and tie meat, poultry, or fish.
  • Manage stocks and keep records of products sold.
  • Choose the products to be presented according to the requirements of the trade and customers.
  • Ensure that storage conditions are adequate.
  • Supervise staff, as required.

Hourly wage

The hourly wage is calculated by averaging wages from 2022 to 2024.
Minimum
$16.10
Median
$19.93
Maximum
$24.50

Job prospects for 2024-2028

Les 2 champs de sélection ci-dessous vous permettent de comparer 2 régions. Les données des régions seront automatiquement mises à jour à la sélection. Par défaut, la province de Québec est sélectionnée pour la première région.

Job prospects for 2024-2028

Job prospects

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Very good

All of Québec

Non available
Limited
Good
Very good
Non available

Total jobs for 2023

All of Québec

5,000

All of Québec

na

Gender distribution

All of Québec

Not available.
9.4% Female
90.6% Male

Not available.
  • 9.4% Female
  • 90.6% Male

Job types

All of Québec

Not available.
Full time
Part time

Not available.
  • Full time
  • Part time

Yearly wage on 2020

All of Québec

$40,400

All of Québec

Other characteristics

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for women
  • None

All of Québec

  • Non traditional for women
  • None

Sectors of activity

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Retail Trade
    NAICS 44, 45
    93% of jobs
  2. Wholesale Trade
    NAICS 41
    4% of jobs
  3. Business, building and other support services
    NAICS 55, 56
    1% of jobs
  4. Agriculture and Fishing
    NAICS 111, 112, 114, 1151, 1152
    1% of jobs
  5. Accommodation and Food Services
    NAICS 72
    1% of jobs
  6. Others
    0% of jobs

All of Québec

Not available.
  1. Retail Trade
    NAICS 44, 45
    93% of jobs
  2. Wholesale Trade
    NAICS 41
    4% of jobs
  3. Business, building and other support services
    NAICS 55, 56
    1% of jobs
  4. Agriculture and Fishing
    NAICS 111, 112, 114, 1151, 1152
    1% of jobs
  5. Accommodation and Food Services
    NAICS 72
    1% of jobs
  6. Others
    0% of jobs

Training and requirements

Formation

Most training programs are offered in French only.

Secondary

DVS in boucherie de détail
Code : 5268

Placement rate: 82.9%

13% of graduates pursue further studies

More on graduates’ employment situation
DVS in retail Butchery
Code : 5768
More on graduates’ employment situation

Sometimes required

  • Experience is often required.

WAP

This occupation is targeted by a Workplace Apprenticeship Program

  • Retail butcher

Main skills and characteristics

Skills

  • Data collection
  • Information processing
  • Active listening
  • Reading comprehension
  • Result evaluation
  • Oral expression
  • Time management
  • Service oriented
  • Critical thought
  • Social perception
More Less skills

Abilities

  • Manual dexterity
  • Near vision
  • Hand-arm stability
  • Classification
  • Oral comprehension
  • Verbal skills
  • Information organization
  • Control accuracy
  • Awareness of issues
  • Selective attention
  • Speech clarity
  • Digital dexterity
  • Core strength
  • Colour perception and distinction
  • Speech recognition
More Less abilities

Knowledge and attributes

  • Autonomy
  • Sense of responsibility
  • Knowledge of customer and personalized services
  • Knowledge of production and treatment
  • Respect standards and regulations
  • Friendliness
  • Assiduity and punctuality
  • Commitment to quality
  • Knowledge of plant and animal production
  • Timeliness

Interests

  • Work in sales or client service
  • Work manually

Personality profiles (RIASEC)

Realistic
People with this profile prefer carrying out concrete tasks and being physically involved in what they do.
Conventional
People with this profile prefer specific, well-defined tasks. They like to respect the order of things and follow established rules.
Enterprising
People with this profile prefer having responsibilities, influencing others and responding to challenges.
Additional information

Official name of the NOC 63201

Butchers - retail and wholesale

Job titles

  • Retail Butchers
  • Fishmongers
  • Butcher - butcher shop
  • Grocery store butcher
  • Retail butcher
  • Butcher - wholesale
  • Apprentice butcher - retail or wholesale
  • Butcher assistant - retail or wholesale
  • Butcher - delicatessen
  • Butcher - retail or wholesale
  • Supermarket butcher
  • Head butcher - retail
  • Head butcher - wholesale
  • Head butcher - retail or wholesale
  • Commis-bouchers/commis-bouchères
More Less job titles

Skill type

Sales and service

Related occupations

  • Fish and seafood plant workers
  • Industrial butchers and meat cutters, poultry preparers and related workers
  • Labourers in food and beverage processing

See also

  • Glossary (PDF 229 Kb)
  • Québec emploi

See also

Non traditional

Hats Off to You!

Last update: January 29, 2026

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