At Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, Canada, Retail Meat Processing Certificate is offered as a foundation in Trades programme. The programme runs for 9 months, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English.
At a glance
Degree:Foundation
Field:Trades
Duration: 9 months
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
We have no tuition fees on record for this programme yet — see the official programme page.
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Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
The Retail Meat Processing Certificate is a foundation-level program at Thompson Rivers University's Kamloops campus that prepares learners for entry-level careers as meat cutters. Delivered over nine months with a single September intake, the program follows an applied training model described by the university as roughly 80 percent hands-on and 20 percent theory, and includes work-experience placements at businesses across British Columbia. Instruction covers the practical skills needed to work in custom cutting, sausage-making and curing operations, and in supermarkets or larger retailers with their own meat-processing facilities. Before starting, applicants must hold FOODSAFE Level 1 certification or complete it in the first week of the program, and admission requires a Grade 10 education or equivalent along with Canadian citizenship or permanent residency, a medical and entry assessment, and an orientation with the program coordinator. TRU describes the certificate as the only program of its kind in British Columbia. It suits people with little or no prior experience in meat cutting who want a structured, campus-based route into retail and wholesale meat-processing work, rather than those already registered as trade apprentices, who would instead pursue the related apprenticeship technical-training levels offered separately through the university's culinary arts division.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: The program's own page sets entry conditions distinct from the usual high-school academic route: Grade 10 (or equivalent); Canadian citizenship or permanent-resident status; a successful medical examination; a successful entry assessment test; and an orientation with the program coordinator. Applicants may apply without FOODSAFE Level 1 but must complete it during the program's first week. International applicants must also meet Thompson Rivers University's own language bar for direct entry into an undergraduate certificate or diploma program: IELTS Academic 6.5 with no band below 6.0, or TOEFL iBT 88 with no section below 20, per TRU's English requirements page.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply directly to TRU: for the September (Fall) intake the deadline is 1 May, for January (Winter) it is 1 September, and for the May (Summer) intake it is 1 January; applications for most programs open 1 October, and a deadline falling on a weekend or statutory holiday moves to the next working day. International applicants follow the same intake structure with deadlines of 1 May (September), 1 October (January) and 1 February (May); TRU still reviews later applications where space remains, though high-volume programs can close early, so admission runs on a rolling basis around these published cut-offs for the 2027 entry cycle. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
