My Dream Job

Tasting wine might be a hobby rather than a profession for most, but there's now an opportunity for someone to taste-test professionally. James Nicholson, Managing Director of James Nicholson Wine Merchant will be saying "You're hired!" to one lucky wine trade novice. But before that the prospective trainee will have to conduct a series of tasks including a blind tasting to ascertain whether their taste buds have potential.James Nicholson has launched an initiative to find his very own trainee. The nine month bespoke training scheme will start in August and give one promising person, with a passion for the wine trade, an insight into all aspects of the industry. Training will include sponsorship through the Wine and Spirit Education Trust intermediate (minimum) and advanced (if time allows) certificates, with further opportunities to complete the WSET Diploma, if offered a long term position with James Nicholson Wine Merchant. James Nicholson Wine Merchant, as an employer, can identify the skills development needs of those keen to pursue a career in this vibrant sector. He said: "Having dedicated, well-trained and proficient personnel is fundamentally important to the success of our business and nowhere is this more apparent than in our sales and marketing activities. "In the past, we have not had the benefit of having formal and directly relevant training schemes from which to recruit team members. "The most important attribute of a prospective trainee is their personality and eagerness to learn."We hope this scheme will provide the chosen candidate with a sound grounding in many features of the industry including: sales skills; merchandising; purchasing and shipping; warehousing; delivery; stocktaking and wine appreciation, including an understanding of vineyard and winery operations."

http://www.4ni.co.uk/northern_ireland_news.asp?id=74322