Set against the backdrop of the Riverina in the south-west of New South Wales lies De Bortoli Winery, one of Australia’s most notable wine producers. The story of De Bortoli harks back to 1924, when Vittorio De Bortoli arrived in the Riverina after migrating to Australia from northern Italy with little more than a few coins in his pocket. Though the region’s flat plains and fertile red earth were completely different to what he had known, Vittorio together with his new wife, Giuseppina, established the roots for the De Bortoli label we know today. 

Today, De Bortoli’s success is widely known, with the producer winning many awards and opening new vineyards and wineries across Australia. However, this success can also create the all too familiar challenge for regional workplaces: finding enough qualified and well-trained employees to help operations run smoothly. 

In agricultural regions, a key driver of youth unemployment is a lack of entry level skills. For the wine industry specifically, entry level training requirements often include safety, manual handling, dangerous goods and confined spaces training, for example. Furthermore, there is a significant lack of forklift drivers in these areas, which is a skill required by many employers. 

This challenge of finding qualified staff saw De Bortoli’s Warehouse and Distribution Manager, Stefan Simmonds, reach out to Acclaimed Workforce (formerly CozWine) for assistance. With an established Training and Upskilling service, Acclaimed Workforce selected, employed and trained a small group of young people for De Bortoli and the wine industry more broadly, through a program that provided multiple pathways of entry. 

Manager of Acclaimed Workforce Edward Milne explains how training and upskilling plays a key role in assisting employers achieve their goals, both in regions and in cities. 

“As a business, our purpose is to partner with our clients and candidates to deliver quality services that add and create value for their business and the community,” he says. “This program and others we’ve developed like it, provide real value for our clients and our employees.” 

The Program 

In September 2019, Acclaimed Workforce partnered with De Bortoli Wines in Griffith to design and implement a successful four-week National Work Experience Program (NWEP) training program. Through the Employment Support Payment Scheme, participants worked a maximum 25 hours per week inclusive of training, at no cost to De Bortoli Wines. Acclaimed Workforce tailored the program to meet the specific needs of the wine company, ensuring participants were trained in the areas where there were skill gaps. This saw participants exposed to various areas of operation, including logistics and warehousing, laboratory, production and cellar. 

All training was completed on-site at De Bortoli at no charge to the organisation, resulting in the following capabilities: 

• Contribute to work health and safety processes (AHCWHS301) 
• Shift materials using manual handling methods (TLID1001) 
• Implement the food safety program and procedures (FBPFSY2001) 
• Handle dangerous goods/Hazardous substances (TLID2003) 
• Licence to operate a forklift truck (TLILIC2001A) 
• Provide first aid (HLTAID003) 

The outcome 

Acclaimed Workforce’s tailored training program saw great outcomes for its client, with a 75% success rate for participants, and two securing permanent jobs at De Bortoli Wines. Another six of the participants gained casual employment across various food manufacturing sites such as citrus, wine and organic food production.   

“Achieving a success rate above 50% for new entrants to an industry, and with permanent employment outcomes, demonstrates that this program was an outstanding success”, says Edward. 

According to De Bortoli’s Stefan Simmonds, the program not only ensured De Bortoli’s business needs were met through the bridging of the skills gap, but also significantly increased the other participant’s employability within the wine and agriculture sectors in the Griffith region. 

“The training program was a wonderful initiative; it didn’t just provide training but covered real hands-on scenarios and experiences for those in the search of logistics futures,” he says. “It enables companies to future build, succession plan and create valuable assets within teams by giving the individuals an opportunity who have had very little to no exposure to logistics.” 

Acclaimed Workforce’s training and upskilling programs 

Acclaimed Workforce brings industry, employers, government and training providers together to develop training programs of various sizes that bridge key skill gaps in Australia. Originating in regional areas to address major skill shortages in wine, agricultural and horticulture, our dedication to providing employment pathways has extended across our areas of specialisation to provide tailored solutions in regional and metropolitan areas. 

We understand that every business has specific needs and is facing different challenges in relation to their workforce and recruitment. For this reason, we create training programs tailored to our clients’ requirements, whether centered around a region, industry or employer. 

If you would like to learn more about Acclaimed Workforce’s Training and Upskilling services, you can find more information on our website or contact us directly.