– Over 200 persons from around the Caribbean to participate

EIGHTEEN Guyanese hospitality workers, sponsored by Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), will embark on a four-week training programme in various Level One Awards in Spirits courses, conceptualised by the West Indies Rum & Spirits Producers’ Association (WIRSPA) and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).

According to a WIRSPA press release on July 15, 2020, Komal Samaroo, Chairman of DDL said, “It is our hope that this training will assist in the continued development of our local hospitality industry and the local workers in the industry many of whom have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The release said that the announcement was made last week that over 200 mixologists, bartenders and other hospitality professionals will be the beneficiaries of an online training programme, which will see the participants increasing their knowledge and skills free of cost during this current down time.

WIRSPA said the training is for Caribbean hospitality workers who have so far been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and are unable to work due to the closure of the tourism industry over the past few months. WIRSPA represents distillers’ associations across the Caribbean and WSET is the largest global provider of wine, spirits and sake qualifications.

Samaroo, who is also the Chairman of WIRSPA added, “WSET is an internationally
recognised provider of education, and this initiative is making available to our hospitality professionals, a world class qualification in spirits. This certification will provide them with important new skills and enhance their employment prospects.”

The release said participants must be at least 18-years-old to be eligible for the training and will be selected by individual distillers’ associations in the respective countries. The Level One Award in Spirits courses, run online via WSET’s Online Classroom, will start on July 27 and will run for four weeks. At the end of the course, students will take a remotely invigilated online exam, and those who are successful will receive a certificate and WSET lapel pin.

It said that WIRSPA’s membership of Caribbean-based distilleries will provide additional support during the course, running tasting sessions and webinars on their brands and products as a supplement to WSET course material.