Bosco Meats

St. John Bosco Meats (SJB), the on-campus butcher shop, is a thriving social enterprise offering a wide variety of fresh and processed meat cuts to both retail and wholesale customers. All our meat is ethically sourced from pigs and chickens raised by students on our campus farm. Our high-quality products are ideal for home cooks, restaurants, caterers, and food vendors.

At Bosco Meats, we offer premium cuts at unbeatable prices! Visit us Monday to Friday, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, and experience the exceptional taste of locally sourced, sustainable meat. Order today!

Bosco Meats is more than a store

This thriving social enterprise is more than a store — it’s a hands-on training ground. Students enjoy a unique opportunity to learn and work on the same campus through our business enterprises.

In collaboration with the HEART/NSTA Trust, St. John Bosco Vocational Training Centre offers hands-on, industry-aligned training in animal husbandry, agriculture, meat cutting & processing, and culinary arts. These programmes are designed to prepare you for real-world success — both on campus and beyond.

Students enjoy a unique opportunity to learn and work on the same campus through our business enterprises — most notably St. John Bosco Meats (SJB), Catering, farm and our on-campus butcher shop and social enterprise. Here, students raise livestock, produce premium cuts, and serve real customers — gaining valuable experience from farm to fork.

Whether you’re starting fresh or upgrading your skills, Bosco provides a clear, supported path to certification and employment.

Courses that can launch your career

Crop Production:

Trainees will gain in-depth agricultural knowledge and learn about modern farming techniques that are essential for successful crop cultivation and maximising yields while emphasising sustainable and eco-friendly techniques. Climate-smart farming techniques will be taught in order to increase the level of climate resilience of local communities. In particular, trainees will learn about and put into practice techniques related to drainage systems, water harvesting, greenhouses, irrigation management, crop rotation, composting, mulching, cover cropping, and the use of hybrid seeds.

Duration: 1 year

Benefits: Students earn a NVQJ Level 2 certification in Crop Production

Commercial Food Preparation

Trainees will learn about food safety, preparing foods according to specific dietary and cultural needs, knife skills and more in order to become employed as a Line Cook, Prep Cook, Pastry Chef, caterers or entrepreneurs. Practicums are completed in a modern on-site kitchen facility.

Duration: 1 year
Benefits: Students earn a NVQJ Level 2 certification in Commercial Food Preparation

Greenhouse Technology

Students will learn about the general care of plants (i.e. plant health and nutrition; irrigation techniques and drainage; pesticide applications; occupational health and safety procedures and more), in order to become employed as Greenhouse technicians, Seedling nursery technicians, or Farm Supervisors. Practices which promote climate resilience will also be taught (e.g. effective ways of protecting greenhouses against the threat of hurricanes). Practicums are completed in an on-site greenhouse.

Duration: 4 months – 6 months

Benefits: Students earn a Greenhouse Technology Job Certification (Level 2)

Butchery

Trainees will learn to work with and understand the properties of different cuts of meat as well as learn to use professional industrial equipment in order to pursue a career as a Meat Specialist, Meat Cutter, Meat Cutting Instructor, Entrepreneur, Butcher, Meat Inspector or Quality Control Specialist. Practicums are completed in a modern commercial butcher shop and private abattoir.

Duration: 4 months – 6 months

Benefits: Students earn a Butchery Job Certification (Level 2)

Our Story

Established in 1984, Bosco Meats quickly achieved remarkable success. Today, it serves as a vital financial pillar for St. John Bosco’s training programs, contributing a significant share of the organization’s income.

Making a difference

Student interns from our butchering training programme actively contribute to the shop’s operations, gaining invaluable hands-on experience in modern meat cutting and processing techniques. As a testament to the success of our training programme, the shop is partly managed by a few of our accomplished alumni, who serve as inspiring professional role models for the next generation of students.

In addition to being a hub for student training, this social enterprise supports the broader community by providing certification training for employees of local supermarkets. Excitingly, we are now exploring an international partnership that could expand Bosco Meats’ butcher training services to individuals beyond Jamaica’s borders.

Proud Member of Mercy Education System of the Americas