From neck and crop to cap and gown

Gary Majnusz swapped his butcher's apron for an academic gown and the move paid off as the 41-year-old, time-served butcher has just graduated with a BSc (Hons) Consumer Law degree from the University of Teesside.

The move from butchery to books came during the BSE crisis. Gary, who left school at 16 to train as a butcher, worked his way into management but was quick to realise that by the time the industry was to recover from the BSE crisis he could retrain for another profession.

Trading standards was a natural progression for Gary. As a butchery manager he was quite conversant with legal issues, health and safety procedures and trading legislation. Some twenty years since leaving school it was back to the classroom for Gary to take A'levels in Maths and Physics.

Gary, who is from Sunderland, said: "This was a real testament to my commitment as I was working full-time and studying in the evenings. I also had to pass my A'levels, then go on and get a Class One pass in the Extended Science Foundation Year before I could get on to the degree course.

"The studying and academic level moved up several gears once I got on to the degree course. I was grateful that I'd maintained a working relationship with a local butcher Stewart Hodgkiss. It meant that I still had an income during the holidays and was able to test out and explore issues such as weights and measures. I went on to gain work experience at Trading Standards in Hartlepool and it gave me a first hand insight in to what is involved in trading standards.

"The beauty of the Consumer Law course at Teesside is that the degree gives you exemption from ten of the 12 modules from Diploma in Trading Standards modules, so as well as having the academic qualification I've got a head start on the professional qualification."

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