Foster's has been recognised for the quality of its staff wine education programme, collecting the Australian Institute of Training and Development Award for "Excellence in Learning Resources".
Presented at a gala event in Melbourne last week Foster's Learning and Development team collected the "Excellence in Learning Resources" award for its three wine education training programmes: Wine Edge, World of Wine and WAFT (Wine Aroma Flavour Training). They won the title ahead of other finalists including the Australian Federal Police, Commonwealth Bank and Queensland Rail.
Manager of Learning and Development at Foster's, Marg McRobbie said that when announcing the award the judging panel - compromised of Learning and Development professionals from the public and private sector - said that the Foster's entry stood out as outstanding in its user friendliness, level of interaction and technical excellence.
"This Award is wonderful recognition for our team who have been creating the resources over the past six months", she said.
WINE EDGE
On-line wine education programme Wine Edge is being launched to Foster's sales force this week. Wine Edge has 10 classes, which are broken into modules, and each class has a quick quiz at the conclusion to reinforce learning, before the next class can begin. The online format allows for the inclusion of tasting notes and video modules showing Foster's wineries and vineyards.
Another advantage of the online format is that it is self-paced. However, the programme will not allow participants to jump randomly amongst classes, so that everyone must complete the course in the correct order.
On completion of the Wine Edge training the sales people will continue to be able to access all sorts of information on key selling points, wine styles, tasting notes, food & wine matching, grape varieties, wine regions and anything else to do with wine. The aim is that Wine Edge will become an ongoing reference resource, to aid them in selling our brands.
Once Foster's has completed training its sales force, it is hoped to roll this education programme out to key trade and customers and eventually wine drinkers.
WORLD OF WINE
World of Wine is an interactive day of theory, practical activities and tastings.
This one-day training module has been rolled out across the business. During the day participants learn about white, red and fortified wine production, labelling, cellaring and decanting. The course also has an interactive element with wine tasting and concludes with a section on food and wine matching.
WAFT (Wine Aroma Flavour Training)
WAFT equips Foster's product tasters with the confidence to critically assess the quality of wines, ensuring a proactive approach to product consistency, brand identity and consumer expectations.
WAFT, a programme which runs over a year, is delivered in monthly sessions with production staff. The aim is to progressively develop and maintain their palates over time, through sensory education. The Foster's team collaborated in the creation of WAFT to identify common product aroma and taste faults which formed the basis of the sensory program.
Highly experiential, WAFT is supported by an extensive reference manual.
For more information, including a preview of Wine Edge contact:
Nicola McConnell
nicola.mcconnell@fostersgroup.com
0402 916 382
02 9217 1281
