Supporting Brewers, Distillers and Packagers in the Drinks Industry

Happy New Year everyone!

We hope that you’ve had the chance to enjoy a well-deserved holiday break and have recharged to start the year with renewed energy and enthusiasm.

At the IBD we’re ready for another qualification cycle. We’ve already seen over 1,700 candidates from all over the world register for technical qualifications and which continues to create a strong sense of global community that we wish to foster and support.

The beginning of this community is already crystalising through our exam support programmes: Tutor Guided Learning and Set for Success, both created to help candidates do well in the Diploma and General Certificate exams respectively. These programmes are possible thanks to internationally based, experienced professionals turned tutors.  Each has a passion for sharing their valuable knowledge with candidates and helping them not just to prepare well for the exams, but also to create an international network and connections that open global professional opportunities.

Of course, we are also conscious that not all the candidates are coming with the same background or have the financial resources to take both our qualifications and join the support exam programmes. That’s the reason why we have been working hard to create a financial support scheme with bursaries and scholarships to support those candidates from less advantaged backgrounds.

We continue to be grateful for the legacy support of the JJ Morison Education Trust which provides scholarships for all candidates from any country taking any of our qualifications; the Worshipful Company of Distillers with bursaries for candidates based in the UK taking the General Certificate and Diploma in Distilling; and St Austell Brewery and Bath Ales, with the Roger Ryman Scholarship for candidates taking Diploma in Brewing 1 based in the UK and especially for those in the southwest.

That’s the beginning. Our commitment is to further expand bursaries and scholarships to facilitate access to technical knowledge for professionals in our industry.

Another important milestone for us this year is the announcement that we are expanding our learning offering with the creation of Essentials in Brewing, the first course without an exam that aims to provide a solid backbone of knowledge for any professional in the brewing industry who works in a support function and for suppliers selling to the industry. We hope that the course will be a really accessible introduction to the brewing process and will also be encouraging those for a general enthusiasm for beer to take a look too. 

Essentials in Brewing is a self-directed course and the most interactive and engaging course that the IBD has created so far through a rich blend of text and illustrations along with interactive games, videos and animations. At the end of it, candidates will achieve a Record of Completion and acquire the knowledge to speak with confidence to those in the industry working in a technical role. 

Essentials in Brewing launch is planned for early February, so watch this space.

Let’s enjoy the year ahead!                                                                                                                                     

Jerry Avis

IBD Chief Executive Officer