New campaign aims to highlight the many career options offered within the UK wine sector, which currently employs over 400,000 people.

A new campaign was launched to raise awareness and increase understanding of the wide range of careers available in the wine sector both in the UK and globally.

National Wine Careers Week took place from 12-18 May and aimed to demonstrate not just how many jobs the UK wine sector provides, but also their breadth and diversity; from viticulture to winemaking, quality control, import and export, logistics, investment, buying and selling, marketing, hospitality and tourism to name a few. Additionally, the sector offers many opportunities to build a successful career, grow in knowledge and gain lifelong qualifications.

The campaign is being driven by Plumpton College, one of the leading land and environment colleges in the UK and the home of the UK Wine Education Centre. It is proudly supported by leading English sparkling wine brand Nyetimber, one of the UK’s largest individual employers in the UK wine industry. The campaign is also supported by WSET, WineGB and Drinks United.

The wine market is a sizeable sector within the UK, generating over £10bn in Gross Value Added to the UK economy. It is also a significant employer, supporting some 413,000 jobs in the UK. Within this, the UK’s developing domestic wine industry has seen exponential growth in vineyards (now over 1,000) and hectarage planted (up 123% in just ten years), sales, tourism and employment. Despite this, people considering the job market rarely look at options within the sector, as they are seldom made aware of them – if at all.

Jeremy Kerswell, Principal of Plumpton College said: “The wine industry is an exciting and dynamic sector, offering many different opportunities and entry levels to many people. We want to highlight the various skills and talents that can be tangibly applied to any number of jobs at whatever level of experience and expertise. Ultimately, we want to showcase the fabulous career opportunities that exist whilst also allowing the wine industry to appeal to a wider pool of talent for their future workforce – at such an important time for business.”

Eric Heerema, Owner and CEO of The Nyetimber Group said: “We are very proud to have supported the inaugural National Wine Careers Week, which shines a light on the breadth and diversity of jobs within the UK wine industry. At Nyetimber, we think in generations, not in years, and as one of the largest employers within the UK wine industry, we want to welcome in new talent who can help this fantastic sector continue to grow. Each year we work with Plumpton College to offer work experience to students, and it has been amazing to see the different areas of specialism that our hires go on to pursue; demonstrating that a career in wine can take people in so many exciting directions.”

In this inaugural year, the campaign will be primarily promoted on digital platforms, focussing on awareness-building across the trade to encourage wider uptake. Consumer-facing PR is also being developed to target those who are making career decisions – at whatever stage of their lives – and those that help them in their decision-making.

Businesses and individuals across the wine sector are invited to get involved by engaging across social media. A toolkit has been devised with hints and tips on how to get involved.

Events which took place to allow people to explore opportunities further:

  • Plumpton College hosted their Open Day & Spring Fair on Saturday 10 May, where the wine department was open, and experts were on hand to talk through various career options within the sector, and the portfolio of training and qualifications on offer (from short courses to degrees, ranging from viticulture and winemaking, to business and marketing).
  • WSET London School hosted a Careers in Wine session on Tuesday 13 May, with a guest panel of speakers from different areas of the wine world and different levels of career.

And, with many of the UK’s vineyards open to visitors throughout the year, there are always opportunities to go and see first-hand what a career in production, hospitality or tourism would entail.

The aim is to build this campaign over the coming years, to extend the reach to a wider audience, and resonate with colleges, career advisors and other influencers that a career in this sector has a great future.


The campaign is being driven by Plumpton College: www.plumpton.ac.uk
proudly supported by leading English sparkling wine brand Nyetimber: www.nyetimber.com
The campaign is also supported by WSET: www.wsetglobal.com WineGB: www.winegb.co.uk Drinks United: www.drinksunited.co.uk