Plumpton College announces National Competency Framework in boost for wine education
Plumpton College, home of the UK’s National Wine Training Programme, has announced the launch of the National Competency Framework (NCF). The new initiative is designed to define essential skills and competencies for employment across key sectors of the UK wine trade.
The Wine GB-endorsed NCF was established in 2022 and completed in 2024. It is the result of a collaboration between Plumpton College, the Vintners' Company and professionals from across the industry. The chief goal of the NCF is to better promote excellence and professionalism within the UK wine sector.
The framework seeks to cater to a range of skill levels from entry level to advanced principles for vineyard, winery and cellar door practices.
Director of wine at Plumpton College, Sam Linter, believes a robust education framework is at the core of success for the British wine industry.
"The establishment of the National Competency Framework represents a strategic step towards ensuring the long-term success of the UK wine industry. We recognise this future growth is very dependent on attracting, re-training and developing a skilled workforce.
“Rather than continuing to develop short courses or online/in person training programmes on an ad-hoc basis, we felt that the right long-term strategic solution for the sector was to develop a National Competency Framework to inform a systematic approach to a new National Wine Training Programme.”
Ian Harris MBE, chairman of the trade liaison committee at The Vintners' Company and former WSET CEO, believes the UK’s ever-growing wine production will require individuals entering the trade to have a strong educational springboard.
“Wine GB predicts that by 2040 the UK wine industry will annually produce over 40 million bottles of wine. The NCF is poised to educate and train individuals for this expansion, playing a pivotal role in paving the way for the UK to emerge as a prominent player in the global wine market, and the Vintners’ Company is proud to support this educational initiative."
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