Education, training and professional development for a sustainable industry

The activities in this program will:

• Effectively integrate any new knowledge and technologies arising from the research activities into viticultural education and training solutions in collaboration with industry stakeholders, government bodies and appropriate providers of such education and training.
• Upgrade the skills and knowledge of industry participants to increase their receptiveness of, and responsiveness to, new knowledge and technologies.
• Continually assess gaps in current industry education and training and develop strategies to deal with them.
• Facilitate collaboration between key stakeholders in the education and training arena, for example government, industry organisations and employers, education and training providers.

Program Manager

Peter Mansfield
Peter Mansfield is the Manager for Workplace Development at the Winemakers Federation of Australia (previously he was the Executive Officer of WINETAC Inc.) Peter has been Manager of CRCV Program 4 since October 2002, and in addition to the overall management of the Education and Training Program, he is also Project Leader of 4.1, Enhanced ability of PhD Researchers, and 4.4, Management and direction of Viticulture Research to Practice.

program update (19/12/2005)

Learning and skill development are vital to the future success of the Australian wine industry. We believe our ability as an industry to be innovative, adaptive to change and highly skilled will be intrinsic to our success in a highly competitive environment.

The education and training program has targeted specific sectors of the industry with projects that are tailored to their skills and learning development needs. As we near the end of the CRCV’s seven-year term we have an increasing focus on outputs and on how we can deliver these outputs to the training sector, so that they are taught to the current and next generation of industry workers.

While the Viticare extension project ensures these CRCV outputs are taken directly to industry, it is also important that education providers are kept up to date with the latest information and that this is reflected in the courses and curriculum they teach.

In the past year we have released a number of resources reflecting CRCV outputs, including a CD about treating Eutypa dieback, an upgraded VERA Version 2 which is used for environmental assessments and ‘SpraySmart’, a CD ROM based training tool that has been widely distributed to growers, associations and training providers. ‘SpraySmart’ is a practical, decision-making tool that can be used to improve spray application in the vineyard. It has been well received with about 1000 copies distributed to date.

The Research to Practice workshops continue to be well-received and the increased participation has provided proof that the licenced format has allowed us to reach a wider audience.

There are now six Research to Practice topics available for delivery under license - Water Management for Grapevine Production; Integrated Pest Management; Grapevine Nutrition; Spray Application in Viticulture; Winegrape Quality Management; and Getting Started with Environmental Management in Viticulture.

There are 22 organisations Australia wide licensed to deliver these topics as suits their expertise and client base. Only a small number of the organisations are offering the workshops in their traditional 2-day format, preferring instead to break up the material into half-day workshops or combining the material to ongoing curriculums.

In the 2003/04 year the licensees reported that approximately 750 people attended training using the materials in one form or other. This compared with 429 attendees in the previous season under the old model. With the availability of new topics and additional licensees in 2004/05, more than 1300 people will receive training this year.

In the past year we have also piloted a new Research to Practice program called ‘Hands On’. Five experienced viticultural consultants were selected to facilitate groups of about 10-15 growers throughout the growing season.

Each group met four times during the season, timetabled to fit in with vine growth stages at budburst, flowering, veraison and harvest. A pre-workshop survey was developed and distributed to all participants to maximise the opportunity of customising the sessions to meet grower needs and expectations. Feedback from the pilot workshop has been positive and an expanded ‘Hands On’ program will be coordinated for 2005/06.

Our PhD program continues to be a success story and is now providing the industry with highly qualified people to work within industry and to be the next generation of researchers. The program has had a high rate of completions at 89% - well above the national average of 79% for natural sciences. Of significance is the fact that our PhD researchers are also submitting their final thesis within the space of four years.

Out of the 35 researchers engaged on CRCV research projects, 17 are currently being supported by the CRCV and will complete their projects in the next 12-18 months. Of those that have completed, eight are working in commercial positions (five related to the wine industry), six are furthering their grape and wine research careers and one is lecturing at a university.

The current students continue to be supported by the professional development program, which has without doubt helped students gain additional skills and provided them with a support network during their studies.

In the past year we have also seen three undergraduate honours students complete their CRCV-funded projects.

One-on-one advice, website news, information and ‘Quarterly Updates’ have continued to inform industry. Information is based on updates to other Training Packages used in the grape and wine industry (such as the Business Services Training Package) as well as developments in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and tertiary sector reform.

The value of the link between learning and skill development and competitive advantage has been communicated to all grape and wine industry associations by way of a Developing people, driving growth – learning and your competitive advantage CD. Additional copies have been sent upon request for distribution to members. The information and tools on the CD have been further distributed through meetings with industry associations, employers, grower liaison officers and industry development officers.

Contact continues with groups that have relevant links with wider industry objectives. For example, in response to their requests we have developed a ‘Winegrape Sampling Techniques’ short course for growers based on existing CRCV information. This short course will be trialled in the Riverland in late 2005.

Drafting is also continuing on a guide to precision viticulture, which is currently being drafted. It will be released in mid-2006 concurrently with a workshop program to guide participants through precision viticulture techniques.

Finally, we have made progress in the identification and articulation of industry needs at the tertiary level. Meetings have been held with every tertiary provider in Australia that delivers industry related programs with a view to identifying ways in which they can work with industry in defining and addressing these needs. We have established a national grape and wine tertiary committee who will continue to engage with tertiary providers.