Worshipful Company of Distillers launches educational programme

By Michelle Perrett

Published: 01 December, 2021

The Worshipful Company of Distillers (WCD) has launched an educational programme aimed at sharing its commercial and marketing knowledge with young distillers.

The programme follows a recent announcement by the company to dedicate charitable investment to the next generation of young distillers.

The WCD one-day seminars will be rolled out across the country with its educational partners, the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD), The Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD) at Herriot Watt University.

The first step of the programme has been the creation of The Business of Spirits, a masterclass in partnership with the IBD.

The first session was held recently at the offices of the WSET and was attended by 18 students all studying the IBD’s Master, Diploma and General Certificate courses. The masterclass aims to complement technical knowledge with a high-level of commercial acumen.

The one-day interactive seminar brought together spirits industry leaders, City analysts and senior industry executives, who shared their expertise. Students learnt about global markets, structure and companies, category and consumer segmentation, pricing, finance, and branding and innovation.

Martin Riley, middle warden at WCD, who is leading the programme said: “We have such rich knowledge, skills and experience in the Livery that it seems only natural it should be shared with the next generation. Our partners are brilliant at teaching distilling, and with our members’ knowledge we are enriching the curriculum and broadening the students understanding of how business works.”

Jerry Avis, IBD chief executive officer, said: “Many of the IBD members and candidates are in roles where they are either entrepreneurial, if working for themselves, or ‘intrapreneurial’ if working in a product development environment within a larger company.”

He added: “This collaboration with the WCD has provided them with an insight to the commercial acumen needed to support the technical knowledge acquired through our qualifications.”

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