Independent Brewers Association director Richard Adamson says the association is focused on ensuring accessible training and education options to brewers of all skill levels across Australia.

The head of the IBA’s ‘People’ programme group told a Radio Brews News’ Brewery Pro podcast that the association had been working closely with TAFE nationally to increase the coverage of training.

IBA Director Richard Adamson is leading the association’s People project group.

“Currently, the IBA is advocating and assisting in getting more training and education courses up and running throughout the TAFE network in Australia,” Adamson explained.

He said the IBA has an education guide in the works this year which would see all of the training and education options available nationally laid out in one place, making the process uniformly easy for brewers.

“It’s putting all the options out there together so people can see what best suits them,” He said.

“We have been busy talking to the Queensland Government and the Victorian TAFE, we have an aim to get the certificate III up and running across the country.

“In New South Wales we are coming up to our fourth year of running certificate III and we just received the news that Queensland will be running it through the South Brisbane TAFE in 2020.

“Training options available and options developing for the industry can only strengthen the brewing industry, especially for small brewers.”

Adamson said the work completed during the Certificate III in micro-brewing is practical, and fills in gaps of assumed knowledge and fundamentals around day-to-day duties.

“We have had students who have been working under less supervision or don’t have an experienced hand around and that’s certainly a symptom of the growth of the industry,” he said.

While anyone can apply for TAFE courses on offer, he said that they are generally oversubscribed, meaning trainees get through as a priority.

“If you are in an entry-level brewing position, and have been for less than three months full-time or part-time equivalent, you may be eligible for a traineeship.

“You need to go to an apprenticeship network provider, this is a free service, that will make sure that both the employee and the employer are eligible for the trainee ship to proceed,” He said.

For those who do not fit into the trainee mould, Adamson explained there is a range of other opportunities available.

Certificate IV, which will be aimed towards senior brewers or individuals in production management, is in the pipeline and Adamson is hoping to have it approved early this year.

“I imagine we will see that being offered in 2021.

“We still have the IBD courses which I think are very valuable and Siebal Institute has course material out there.

“There’s also the post-graduate courses that are available at Federation University and Edith Cowan University – so there is a range of education available.”

Adamson said the IBA membership dollars provide the resources to ensure that the association can work towards more training and education opportunities.

“Across the board I think everyone is recognising the need for more education and I don’t see a downside to it.”

If Australian brewers notice a need for training in their area and would like assistance to get the training up and running, Adamson recommends contacting the IBA directly.

Listen to the full conversation with Richard Adamson.

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