The situation in the South African Wine Industry was not any better. The South African Wine Producer was dependent on the domestic market as imports from South Africa were banned in most overseas markets. The wine industry was “governed” by KWV with a minimum price system and strictly controlled production quota systems. If a producer produced more than his allowed quota of grapes the revenue for the access production was due to KWV. At the wineries emphasis was placed on production costs and to get access to the few powerful wine buyers from the “Groothandel”.
Despite this desperate situation a few smart winemakers, members of EKOV (Elsenburg Cellar Technology Old Boys Association), with loads of vision decided to invest in the training of their cellar assistants and developed a training program with the acronym of SKOP (Senior Kelderassistent Ontwikkelings Program). The very first SKOP training took place on 22nd October 1987 when 50 Cellar Assistants attended the morning workshop.
Although it was humble beginnings for the programme it proofed to be sustainable and today, 30 year down the line, SKOP has become thé cellar training brand in the South African Wine Industry. SKOP still remains the intellectual property of EKOV, but since 2006 it is managed by Wine Training South Africa, a non-profit organization with EKOV and The Cape Winemakers Guild as co members. Wine Training South Africa is the only Service Provider that offers Accredited Training for Cellar Assistants in the South African Wine Industry.
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FROM THE PROGRAM MANAGER'S DESK:
I have been privileged to be involved with SKOP for the latter 15 years of the program’s existence and this format of training remains my personal favorite and very close to my heart.
The opportunity to share in the development of the learners as they walk their career paths is very rewarding. It makes me proud to be able to contribute to the growth in the organisation and to create conditions for growth of the people in the South African Wine Industry.
There were times when conditions were very difficult, the program had to be expanded and the Industry put a lot of pressure on us to get accredited, but we did not have the resources to do it and Industry could not assist unaccredited organisations. With the assistance of The Cape Winemakers Guild, a lifeline was thrown and we managed to get Wine Training South Africa accredited in a very short period of time. Today we also get Industry recognition and support from Vinpro and Winetech and The Cape Wine Auction support us in Foundational Skills Development (Mathematics and Communication).
After 13 years of running the project with the support of volunteers we reached the point where permanent staff could be appointed. Romena Ferreira was appointed as Training Administrator in 2015. Bradley van Niekerk recently joined the team as Training and Development Facilitator. Mario Damon, part of the DGB winemaking team and SKOP 2 Top student in 2000, was appointed as a WTSA Board Member.
“We remain thankful for the loyal support from our clients over the last 30 years and look forward to be of service to this great Industry for the next 3 decades and more. We salute the Cellar Assistants and look forward to great celebrations on 6 and 7 October this year to give recognition to their roles in the achievement of our Industry over the last few decades.”
Yours in training
Emma Burger
Contact Details :
WTSA Office, FET Building, Elsenburg
Tel.no. +27.21 3000 117
Email : admin@winetrainingsa.co.za or emma@winetrainingsa.co.za
Mario Damon, Romena Ferreira and Bradley Van Niekerk