Program Book - Master Brewers Association of the Americas

IBD Symposium: It’s Education, Stupid!
I-7
An overview of the IBD professional qualifications
SIMON JACKSON (1)
(1) Institute of Brewing & Distilling, London, UK
The IBD is a global membership organization and educational
charity, with a core vision statement of “The advancement of
education and professional development in the science and
technology of brewing, distilling and related industries”. In the
manufacturing workplace of the 21st century there are constant
pressures on cost and performance, and employers deploy a raft of
strategies to ensure that they remain competitive. Such strategies
can be generally be grouped under the umbrella of “world-class
manufacturing”. Successful implementation of such programs is
dependant on the implementation of key foundation blocks—with the
most critical being a total commitment to learning and knowledge
acquisition throughout the organization. In supporting the brewing
and distilling industries, the IBD provides a suite of globally
recognized qualifications, which offers an entry point for operators
and technicians (Certificates in Brewing and Packaging) through
to a masters level qualification for senior professionals. This paper
will provide details of the format of each examination and how each
level can be used to create a “ladder” of learning in the workplace.
Each level of examination is supported by a comprehensive syllabus,
and for all levels below the Master Brewer qualification, there are
also tailored learning materials. The Master Brewer qualification is
not supported by learning materials, as the exam format focuses on
an assessment of a candidate’s practical knowledge and work place
experience. The syllabi and examination papers are overseen by the
IBD Board of Examiners. The Board meets as required to prepare
papers for each examination, to maintain the relevance of the syllabi
and to reflect changes in knowledge and technology. Currently the
IBD offers the entry point examinations (General Certificates) twice
a year and the Diploma and Master Brewer examinations once a
year. The IBD administers examinations in over 80 centers around
the world to facilitate access for candidates. In 2007 these centers
were used by over 1,200 candidates. The IBD supports candidates
through various training options. In addition to residential courses,
the IBD has also established a network of “approved trainers” who
are accredited to teach either entire syllabi or subsidiary modules
within each qualification. The paper will provide examples of how
this network operates in practice and how it delivers training close
to the customer. The IBD also offers distance learning facilities, and
the paper will provide details on how these programs operate.
After graduating with a degree in botany and zoology from the
University of Wales, Simon Jackson entered the brewing industry
as a production graduate trainee with Grand Metropolitan
Brewing Division – Watney, Mann, and Truman. After spells at
Mortlake, Isleworth, and Brick Lane, he was appointed production
director at Webster’s in Halifax. Following the acquisition of
Grand Metropolitan Brewing by Courage in 1991, he moved into
commercial roles, first as an on-trade business unit director and
then, after the acquisition of Courage by Scottish and Newcastle,
as regional managing director for the west of England and Wales.
He next returned to operations as customer support development
director. In 2003 he was appointed production director at Berkshire
Brewery and in 2004 joined Scottish and Newcastle’s U.K. leadership
team as U.K. manufacturing director. He was appointed executive
director of the IBD in 2006. Simon has a particular interest in people
development and skill acquisition and is working to develop the
educational and qualification platform of the IBD, such that it meets
the needs of the brewing industry in the 21st century.
50
I-8
Asset care: How to maintain your most important equipment—
People
IAN JONES (1)
(1) Global Beverage Solutions, Sandton, South Africa
One of the most glibly used phrases in industry for many decades
has been “People are our most important assets”. This statement
is used with wild abandon by senior executives and management to
impress and influence investors, unions, and other key stakeholders
but is rarely actually felt by the ‘important assets’ themselves.
Indeed I would argue that in most cases the physical assets (plant
and equipment) gain far more attention than the human assets, who
also require regular maintenance, calibration and upgrade. It is
critical, of course, for business to retain and develop their people.
Retention is all about salary, benefits, reward and recognition,
performance management, etc. But, what is people development
all about? Many terms have been used to express the important
business initiative of people development, including learning
and education, training and development, human resource
development, competency development/acquisition, etc., etc.,
etc. This plethora of terminology reflects not only the everchanging
face of people development but also how it is often both
misunderstood and mismanaged. This paper will try and look at
what people development is really all about and how it is managed
in the workplace. Having spent the last nine years of my life almost
exclusively involved in people development, I will examine what I
believe are the 10 biggest mistakes generally made by companies
in this respect and, through this, hopefully try and identify how to
avoid these pitfalls. Therefore, companies will be able to manage
those most ‘important assets’ more efficiently and effectively and
achieve performance where it really matters…on the bottom line.
Ian Jones completed a B.S. degree in microbiology at the University
of Kent (United Kingdom) in 1985 and then a M.S. degree in
malting and brewing science at the British School of Malting and
Brewing, University of Birmingham (United Kingdom). Following
graduation, he worked for nine years in the British brewing industry,
completing a brewing pupilage with Whitbread and working in
line management for Guinness, London. During this period, he
also successfully passed the Institute of Brewing Diploma Master
Brewer exams. Ian then joined South African Breweries as brewing
manager at its largest plant in Alrode, near Johannesburg. After
four more years in production, he became brewing training and
development manager for the group. He completed his MBA at the
University of Witwatersrand at this time; his thesis was “A Model
for Human Resource Development.” Ian left corporate life in 2002
and set up Global Beverage Solutions (Pty) Ltd to provide tailored
human resource development solutions to the beverage industry
worldwide. Since its inception, the company has worked with many
global brewing companies and has been particularly active in helping
candidates prepare for the IBD examinations. It also specializes
in developing complete Human Resource Development (HRD)
solutions for companies, from organizational design through to staff
competence.