A new degree program is available to students at BVTCT who want to pursue a career in the booming craft beer industry. Local partnerships will provide internship opportunities and coursework will teach the techniques of beer making as well as the business knowledge needed for success.
BridgeValley Community and Technical College announced the new Brewing Operations degree program this February, the first of its kind in West Virginia. Responding to business trends and student interest, BVCTC developed the program for students 21 and older to learn all aspects of operating a brewery including the process of brewing beer, the science behind it, and the business skills needed to manage a business and market a product. Administrators have designed the program to be competitive with better-known programs in the country, and to react to industry trends in order to stay relevant. Apprenticeship opportunities are being developed, made possible by funding from state programs.
Craft Brewing is the second-fastest growing manufacturing industry in West Virginia, accounting for an economic impact on the state of $289 million, according to the American Brewers Association. As BVCTC Program Coordinator Michael Parsons observed in a recent release from the college, "There's a big demand right now. Just a few years ago we were below ten breweries and now we're at 28 at my last count and there are several more in various stages of opening. The industry is growing very quickly and with that expansion, the industry is needing a trained workforce."
The first class of the Brewing Operations program started in Fall 2020 and has already secured its first full-time apprenticeship opportunity with Greenbrier Valley Brewing. Samantha Fox, student in the Brewing Operations program, has been selected for the apprenticeship at Greenbrier. She enrolled in the program after deciding to make a change from her former occupation as an academic advisor. Fox says that the program provides an opportunity to learn something new and likes the structure of the program. Designed to be a comprehensive degree that prepares students for all aspects of the field, the coursework is interdisciplinary. There is an advisory board of local leaders in the brewing industry whose goal it is to assist BVCTC in keeping the courses current and relevant. Fox explained what she appreciates about the program, "BVCTC in particular, has done a really good job of doing a lot of research about what other programs in other states are offering. They are offering a really competitive program and you walk out of there really knowing a lot. I definitely feel like it will well prepare me for what I need to work in this industry."
Funding to help cover the costs of the program and the apprenticeships has come from a variety of state sources. BVCTC has worked with the West Virginia Development Office in the designing of the program curriculum. David Lavender, Apprenticeship Program Coordinator at the West Virginia Development Office sees investment in the growing brewery industry as a wise strategy for job growth in the state. He also applauded the new program for providing the opportunity locally, "While brew students once had to travel to expensive programs in far-away states to get industry-trained, this homegrown program is a fresh career pathway for a new generation of cross-trained apprentices into good-paying careers in West Virginia's burgeoning beverage industry. The unique and dynamic combination of the Brew Ops program and apprenticeship is a deliberate and collaboratively-planned educational and industry pipeline to an exciting career in a growing field."