VinPro trains record number in wine industry
Vinpro has helped a record number of people in the South African wine industry boost their viticultural skills, and will continue to do so in the next few months.
A total of 1 252 people were trained during 65 Vinpro vineyard training courses in the year ending 30 June 2019, covering such areas as irrigation, identification of pests and diseases, soil science and vine develoments to name a few.
“It’s really encouraging to see wine grape producers even as far as KwaZulu-Natal increasingly realising the value of equipping their people with practical and theoretical expertise,” said Hanno van Schalkwyk, Vinpro viticulturist who heads up the training.
The courses have been made available to the industry since 2012 thanks to a subsidy by the Vinpro Foundation, and the content has been expanded this year to ten modules, each of which are presented as a separate session.
“It was extremely valuable for us to have the training done on the farm this year,” said Kwagga Boucher, vineyard manager at Ataraxia Wines. “We use the Guyot and VSP systems, and the trainer was able to focus on our specific needs in the vineyard. I can now also take the young, inexperienced teams back to the vineyard where I can show them how the practices should be applied correctly."
According to Carmen Mac Curry, human resources manager at Bosman Adama, the employees enjoy the training. “The employees that are sent for training feel proud and recognised. The trainers present the content in a practical manner, which helps them gain deeper insight into their daily tasks. The training also adds value to our business and supports our strategy to empower our employees.”
Jacques du Bois, owner of Du Bois farm said that even seasoned members of staff benefited from the traning. “Even those team members who have years of pruning experience indicated that it was of great value to them to for the first time understand the theory and background to pruning and vine development,” he said. “It gives us peace of mind to know that our permanent employees and contracted team now have the necessary know-how to apply the practices efficiently and correctly.”
Producers can register their teams for any of these prescheduled one day sessions, or contact the training office to request that a session be held on their vineyard. Half day courses are also available on request, which focuses on demonstrations only as a quick refresher course.
Visit Vinpro for more information about the specific training sessions in your region, or contact the training office at 021 276 0429 or training@vinpro.co.za.