Graduates of secondary and higher education programs in brewing find excellent employment opportunities in domestic breweries. Nevertheless, these breweries report a shortage of applicants, especially for technical positions. Interest in studying brewing has remained stable in recent years, with an increase in the number of women. This is according to surveys conducted among educational institutions and breweries by the Czech Association of Breweries and Malt Houses.
Domestic breweries employ approximately 6,000 people full-time, with graduates in fields directly related to brewing being key to their operations. Approximately one hundred such graduates enter the labor market each year and regularly find very good employment opportunities. Nevertheless, breweries have a problem filling positions in specific professional fields. There is a shortage of brewers on the market, and companies are most significantly struggling with a shortage of employees in technical positions, such as technologists, mechanics, maintenance workers, and operations operators. Both breweries and school representatives agree on this.
“Brewing naturally combines craft tradition and experience with the latest technological processes and knowledge. On the one hand, we see food industry experts who receive high-quality training at Czech schools and find excellent employment opportunities in practice. On the other hand, however, due to the high degree of automation and technical sophistication of production, breweries need high-quality technicians and mechanics. And there is a general shortage of these on the market,” points out Tomáš Slunečko, executive director of the Czech Association of Breweries and Malt Houses.
More than half of breweries report a shortage or serious shortage of technologists and production operators, and maintenance technicians and mechanics are lacking in virtually all operations. About half of breweries also perceive a shortage of filling line workers, and there is also high demand for systems and IT specialists and brewers. On the other hand, positions in laboratories, logistics, sales departments, and communications are well filled.
Brewing fields as a ticket to the industry and increased interest among women
Those interested in studying fields related to beer brewing can apply to a number of schools in the Czech Republic offering courses in Food Production – Brewer/Maltster or Food Technology with a focus on beverages.
Surveys show that interest in these fields among young Czechs is stable and has not changed significantly in the last ten years. On average, secondary schools welcome around 130 new students in these fields each year, with a few dozen students going on to university. Some schools report growing interest among women, who now account for more than a third of graduates on average. There is also an increase in the number of applicants who have completed other secondary education and are changing their specialization. However, schools believe that awareness of brewing as a field of study is lower than it deserves to be.
“Czech brewing and Czech beer are a cultural and social phenomenon in our country. Paradoxically, however, many students do not know that they can look into brewing when choosing their secondary education. Yet it is an education that will serve them well with employers, not only in large cities, but across the entire country. Unlike other fields, brewing is not so concentrated in specific regions,” notes Tomáš Slunečko.
“We see that about 70% of our graduates go on to university, where they further deepen their specialization. In general, a high percentage of graduates successfully remain in the field, and there is consistently high demand for them among employers. The biggest challenge for students is the difficulty of the subjects,” says Václav Krámek, director of the Podskalská Secondary Technical School, giving a specific example.
The areas of study and practice are closely linked in Czech brewing. Almost all schools offer students the opportunity to receive practical training directly in breweries and involve experts from the field in their teaching. In return, the vast majority of breweries cooperate with educational institutions. Schools are also adapting to current trends. For example, teaching focuses not only on traditional Czech lager but also on other beer styles and takes into account the use of modern technologies with automation and robotization of production.
“Brewing is a very promising field. It needs experienced people, but also young professionals with good training. Whether students choose production directly or decide to study maintenance, technology, or systems, they will be in high demand in breweries,” summarizes Slunečko.