In a widely varied training and education landscape for the spirits industry, employers and workers alike could benefit from having a clear understanding of what skills, competencies, and practical experience a worker gains from completing an available training program. To that end, the Society of Spirit and the Beam Institute recently joined forces to advance workforce education in the American spirits industry by leading development of voluntary stakeholder-driven standards for what training credentials represent. 

The project's goal

Unify the American spirits industry around safety, quality of education and a shared lexicon

The project's objective

Elevate the safety and wellbeing of the workforce and the industry as a whole

The projects expected outcome

Establish a standard for the broad/diverse educational offerings for the industry to adopt

What the project is not

A new regulation - the outcomes of the project will be a voluntary standard that workers, employers, and educators can use to clearly communicate learning outcomes tied to relevant knowledge and competencies from training.

Right now, we're looking for input from stakeholders in the American spirits industry - workers (from operations and QC to supply chain and HR), employers, consultants, educators, and more - to develop our framework in a way that serves the industry's needs. 

Let us know what you think by responding anonymously to this survey. You can also reach out to our Education Coordinator via email (k.b@uky.edu) with questions or comments. 

It's critical to hear from as many spirits industry stakeholders as possible to ensure any results from this project effectively serve the industry's needs, so please share the word with your professional networks and friends.

We look forward to hearing from all of you!