Future jobs are brewing
IF YOU’VE always thought of brewing beers for a living, now might be the time to crack open the dream.
New jobs data shows thirst for craft beer is fuelling a predicted 9 per cent employment growth in the booming boutique beer market.
Blackman’s Brewery owner Renn Blackman was not surprised by the IBISWorld report which found craft beer production industry is expected to grow by an annualised 3.8 per cent over five years to 2022.
Mr Blackman opened his Torquay brewery in 2014 and has since expanded to Geelong. He said demand from restaurants and cafes had surged as more customers switched their tastes from basic beers to boutique beverages.
“I think it’s the whole local thing. People want to know where their food and drink has come from,” Mr Blackman said. “It’s like going to a farmer’s market, if people are in Torquay or Geelong they want to buy local beer rather than one produced by a big multinational.”
The brewery has not been afraid to stray outside the traditional beer flavours — developing unique tastes such as beetroot and berry beer.
“It creates really good awareness. People often think beer is just like your VB, but there is so much diversity and so many flavours,” Mr Blackman said.
The “foodie movement” has also infiltrated the beer indus- try, with breweries like Blackman’s hosting beer pairing nights.
The IBIS report found the small scale nature of craft beer production meant producers relied more on labour than traditional beer manufacturers as they lacked the capital to invest heavily in equipment.
Blackman’s staff has grown from just three in 2014 to eight full-time employees and a casual pool of 15-20 bar staff.
“It’s just a really creative space with lots of nice people. People come in and drink beer and you get to mix with people consuming your product,” Mr Blackman said.
IBIS found industries including data storage services, education and aquaculture are experiencing strong growth.