The learning path often follows a familiar route: get into craft beer, get into homebrewing, help out friends at local breweries, then land gigs in those breweries. It’s a track that has produced some brilliant, creative brewers. It’s also a track that’s limited in scope.
For one thing, learning and advancing based on personal connections perpetuates a homogenous industry. On this track, there’s also an educational ceiling—how can self-trained brewers keep up with evolving technology and learn more advanced methods?
Today, there are a growing number of alternatives in the form of educational and vocational programs with hands-on training components. Developed by an assortment of organizations—breweries themselves, local partnerships, technical schools, universities—there are many more courses and internships available, and in more places, than there were even a decade ago.
Done well, these programs can eliminate barriers of entry to brewing jobs while building bridges to evolving knowledge. They can also help breweries find more well-informed and passionate people with more diverse backgrounds and perspectives. That’s a recipe for better beer, stronger brewing businesses, and—ultimately—a wider customer base.
Based on insights from industry veterans who’ve organized them, here’s a look at how small breweries can develop vocational programs that work for them, for their graduates, and for the industry.