Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

A Moonta butcher has called for the Federal Government to top up apprentice wages to make them more appealing to young people.

Rhys O’Donohue of Moonta Gourmet Meats has two apprentices and said he was always looking for more.

But, with an hourly rate of $14 an hour for a first-year apprentice butcher, it was hard to compete with the wages being offered for unskilled jobs in industries such as retail and hospitality, which offer $5 to $10 an hour more, he said.

“I would like to see a $5 an hour top-up, or $200 a week, which would help them pay the rent.

“Previously, they got a 50 per cent wage top-up but now we only get a 10 per cent rebate.

“When they only earn $27,000 a year, they struggle to afford to pay essential costs such as rent.

“We are a training facility and it takes time to train them, so it’s hard for us to pay them any more.”

Apprentice butchers also study with the Independent Institute of Food Processing for their three-year apprenticeship.

Mr O’Donohue said the working hours for butchers could also be a negative for young people.

“Apprentice butchers also have to work on weekends, public holidays and so on when they want to play sport or be with their friends,” he said.

“In the meat industry, those are our busiest times.

“It’s a very seasonal business — the holiday period is just exceptional.

“We are 15 to 20 per cent busier in the summer holidays compared to the rest of the year.

“Casual staff who work 20 hours a week during most of the year can work 40 hours a week over summer.

“We had two ladies come into the shop (in early January) to drop off their resumes and I hired them on the spot.”

Mr O’Donohue employs two butchers aged in their 60s and another in his mid-30s, so he said he was keen to train young people.

“The future of the industry is young people and if we can’t find them, how can we continue to service Yorke Peninsula with meat?” he said.

Mr O’Donohue employs 14 people, and said he was always looking for more staff in general, including assistants.

He said the lack of accommodation in the Copper Coast area also made it difficult for him to attract employees.

“If someone wanted to come here to work as a butcher and I couldn’t offer them accommodation, they couldn’t come — it is a crisis,” he said.

Mr O’Donohue urged young people keen on taking up a trade to consider the meat industry.

“It’s a challenging industry but it’s a job you will always have as long as people need to eat,” he said.

“You can go anywhere in the world.” 

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 4 February 2025.