The team at a North Yorkshire farm shop and café are celebrating after their butchery trainee has reached the final of a regional Apprenticeship award.

Cameron McNicoll from Cedarbarn Farm Shop's butchery team has been shortlisted for the Intermediate Apprentice of the Year at the North Yorkshire Apprenticeship Awards 2024.

Cameron was nominated by Michael Sword, who is the Coach and Assessor in Butchery at Bishop Burton College, where he has been studying for the last two years.

Michael said: "Cameron joined the Level 2 Butcher Apprenticeship with no previous knowledge of the butchery industry. He soon found that he loved the fast pace of butchery and enjoyed learning the vast array of butchery skills and knowledge.

"Cameron's excellent Yorkshire patter and salesman skills have been shown to be one of his greatest assets. He is able to converse naturally with customers, offering advice and highlighting with a fantastic sales pitch for new products he has created for customers to try. Cameron already has a loyal following of customers who love being served by him and enjoy getting regular updates on how his apprenticeship is going.

"Cameron is an excellent candidate for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year. His passion, patter and positivity throughout his apprenticeship truly make him a standout student and would make him a well-deserved winner."

The awards are organised by National World events to honour the outstanding apprenticeship network flourishing across the region. They are sponsored by Occupational Awards Limited (OAL), a leading, not-for-profit End-Point Assessment and Awarding Organisation.

Cameron faces competition from Abbie Newsam from York College, Garent Jenkinson and Ellie Pilbrow from Askham Bryan College, Harrison Ward from James Wilding Joinery and Mark Curran from Heart of Yorkshire Education Group. He will learn whether he has been successful at an awards ceremony in York on June 13.

Cameron is currently at "Gateway" on his apprenticeship. He has completed all his knowledge work and observations and is just waiting to do his final end-point assessment, which will require him to pass a multiple-choice exam, practical butchery test and professional discussion.

Cedarbarn Farm Shop's Butchery is home to a team of seven who butcher and prepare home-reared beef and lamb and Yorkshire pork and poultry for the Farm Shop and the 80-seater Café.