The Wine and Viticulture Technology Program at Lake Michigan College is planning a wine industry hiring fair for next month.
LMC Wine Program Director Tim Godfrey tells us with the spring here, wineries in the region are looking for workers.
“The wine and viticulture industry has a lot of seasonal work,” Godfrey said. “The summer season is heavy with vineyard work out in the field. In the fall, we have seasonal winemaking work. And then, as we’re all aware, we live in an area that sees a lot of tourists, and during that busy tourist season, our local tasting rooms also need a lot of help with the wine hospitality side of things.”
The event at LMC will connect both students and the general public with those wineries to explore opportunities. Godfrey says the 15 wineries to be present are all in this region.
“We’re in the Lake Michigan Shore American Viticultural Area, the federally recognized winemaking area that is here in Southwest Michigan. So that’s our main kind of industry we serve, and those are the folks that are looking for extra help this time of year.”
The LMC Wine and Viticulture Technology Program typically serves between 30 and students at a time. With the hiring fair, Godfrey says they could learn about summer job opportunities or potential internships to help them get started in the field, so to speak. He notes LMC wine and viticulture graduates can be found working at these businesses and all over the world.
“It’s dozens and dozens. Our graduates are in tasting rooms, they’re in vineyards, they’re in the wine cellars at all of the wineries locally, and some in full-time roles, sometimes some in kind of more temporary seasonal roles. We’ve had students and graduates go outside of the area as well too.”
So, what kinds of students does the program attract?
“We have traditional college students that are directly out of high school, so 18 to 22-year-olds. We have students that are kind of — maybe they’ve tried a career and they’re coming back for training and they want to try to do something a little more fun. Students that might be in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Then we also have students that are near the end of their first or their final career and are looking to figure out what it’s going to look like once they’re retired. They’re looking for a fun job and a cool industry to work in.”
But next month’s hiring event won’t just be for LMC students. Godfrey says they’ve opened it to everybody.
“All walks of life. Everybody is invited. Wine brings people together,” Godfrey said.
The hiring event will be Wednesday, April 8 at the Welch Center for Wine and Viticulture Technology on the Lake Michigan College Benton Harbor Campus from 4 to 6 p.m. Godfrey says it will be casual, but attendees should bring a resume so potential employers know how to contact them.
Businesses scheduled to participate include:
Free Run Cellars
Fenn Valley Vineyards
St. Julian Winery & Distillery
Whittaker Wine Merchants
Lemon Creek Winery
Arts District Wine Bar
Golden Muse Winery
Gravity Winery
Modales Wines
Lawton Ridge Winery
Cody Kresta Vineyard and Winery
Michigan Wine Company
Dablon Vineyards and Winery
Lazy Ballerina Winery
Lake Michigan Vintners