Four Square's first butchery apprenticeship awarded to Port Chalmers superstar employee

At Port Chalmers Four Square in Dunedin, one capable team member has just completed a challenging three-year butchery apprenticeship programme, the first of its kind offered by the Four Square group. 

Jess Hudson has been working in the butchery for six years now, starting off as a meat packer before learning the basics of the trade. Now, she runs the entire in-store butchery department. 

When Jess heard that the new Owner Operator Aaron Challis was a butcher by trade, she knew they would be kindred spirits and to Jess’ delight, he offered her the butchery apprenticeship.

“I left school with no qualifications and now have three young children. I didn’t think I would ever get the opportunity to end up with a trade behind me, but Aaron has been a great trainer and mentor over the last three years. I’m extremely grateful and proud,” Jess explains.

Eugene Ruane, Four Square Group Manager at Foodstuffs South Island says Jess represents exactly what the cooperative is hoping to achieve by supporting her apprenticeship.  

“We want to reward and upskill valued employees like Jess, with extraordinary drive and enthusiasm and we couldn’t be prouder of the results,” he says.

Aaron Challis says Jess now pretty much runs everything in her department, including stock ordering, cutting and gross profit margin percentages, which most trainees wouldn’t start doing until years later. 

“There’s not many team members who can effortlessly switch between managing employee timesheets to making sausages." Aaron jokes.

“Each year at training school the apprentices are set a competition task of specific cuts and instructions, which Jess won two years in a row. I would always tell Jess she is better than she gives herself credit for, and I look forward to seeing Jess' go from strength to strength in the co-op,” he says.