A cadetship programme giving Marlborough and Hawkes Bay locals employment and providing a solution to skills shortages in the wine industry has won a national workplace diversity award.

Constellation Brands New Zealand, which owns Drylands Winery and Riverlands winery in Marlborough, and Selaks winery in the Hawkes Bay, took out the Tomorrow’s Workforce category at the 2019 Diversity Awards NZ

The company began its cadet programme in Marlborough in 2012 as a way of identifying and training local talent. It gives young people and those outside the industry a chance to explore working within the wine industry during a year of paid training.

The programme was later extended to Hawkes Bay. About a fifth of the 60 people who have completed the training have been offered permanent employment with Constellation Brands New Zealand. Those who aren’t offered employment leave fully trained and qualified to work in most New Zealand vineyards and wineries.

“This programme is an investment in the future of the company, the industry and New Zealand. This is critical in helping to fuel a growing industry with a labour shortage in Marlborough,” says Constellation brands New Zealand Vice President Human Resources Julie Bassett.

Judging convener Neil Porteous says this is a well-designed programme with the greater good of the industry and regions at its heart, that has invested in developing capability creating pathways for both younger workers and those looking for a career change.