THE Cape Winemakers’ Guild has teamed up with Wine Training South Africa to boost opportunities for aspirant cellar workers.
The guild’s support of cellar worker training grew out of its successful Protege Programme for aspiring winemakers as well as the new viticulturist mentorship initiative.
The partnership includes the appointment of two guild members as directors of wine trainers as well as financial support in the form of a R200 000 donation for Sector Education and Training Authority accreditation to create a national qualification for cellar workers.
The main goal is to expand the programme to include formal training of winemaker assistants.
“The Nedbank Cape Wine-makers Guild Development Trust is committed to wine industry education and with our new wine trainers partnership we are now able to achieve these goals,” said the Guild’s Development Trust chairman, Louis Strydom.
The three-tier training modules – SKOP 1, 2 and 3 – give introductory, intermediate and advanced courses which are presented at Elsenburg Agricultural College as well as at centres in places in the Boland and west coast, northern and southern Cape.
After completing the first three courses, candidates can continue with a formal range of NQF Level 3 winemaking programmes, opening up opportunities for further study.
Wine trainers’ programmes have produced a number of winemakers at leading cellars, and with the guild’s involvement more opportunities can now be created for cellar workers.
For more information on the cellar- worker training courses, contact Emma Burger on 082 851 3164.
