There are exciting opportunities available across a wide range of disciplines within the Scotch Whisky sector.
When people think about careers in Scotch Whisky, they often picture distillation, production, or blending. While these roles are undoubtedly important, the industry relies on a much broader range of skills and expertise.
The roles attracting the most attention
Looking at the vacancies advertised on Spirited Careers at the moment (June 2026), there seems to be a clear theme emerging. Many of the opportunities fall into one of the following categories:
While these functions may seem very different, together they tell an important story about our industry.
Behind every successful brand are marketers telling compelling stories, visitor experience teams creating memorable moments, sales professionals building relationships, events specialists bringing brands to life, and compliance experts helping businesses navigate increasingly complex regulatory environments.
That is a lot of different skills.
The good news is that whether your strengths lie in creativity, customer experience, relationship building, commercial strategy, project management, regulation, or communications, there is likely to be a role where your skills can thrive.
To explore this further, I've taken a look at some of the current vacancies and identified some of the skills employers are looking for.
Compliance: keeping businesses safe, responsible and effective
Compliance can cover a wide range of functions. Within the Scotch Whisky industry, these roles may include health and safety, occupational health, quality assurance, regulatory affairs, sustainability, governance, or risk management.
Because compliance roles are so varied, it can be difficult to define a single set of required skills. However, some of the qualities that regularly appear include:
If you enjoy working with detail, solving problems, and helping organisations operate responsibly and effectively, compliance could be an area worth exploring.
Tourism and Visitor Experience: bringing brands to life
Tourism, brand homes and visitor experience is another area where there are currently a number of opportunities available.
These roles place visitors at the heart of the experience, whether that's through tours, tastings, events, hospitality, retail, or customer engagement.
Skills commonly sought by employers include:
Many of these skills are highly transferable, making tourism and visitor experience an accessible route into the industry for people from a variety of backgrounds.
Understanding your skills
If you're at the start of your career, it can feel overwhelming trying to identify exactly what your skills are and how they might fit into a particular role.
The good news is that there are plenty of resources available to help. The UK Government's Skills Assessment tool can be a useful starting point for understanding your strengths and identifying areas you'd like to develop.
There is also a wealth of careers advice available through universities, careers services, and specialist graduate websites. Whether you're looking at resources from your local university, such as the University of Edinburgh's careers service, or broader platforms like Milkround, there is plenty of support available to help you take your next step.
A sector with opportunities for diverse skills
One of the most exciting aspects of working in Scotch Whisky is the sheer variety of careers available.
As the industry continues to evolve, employers are increasingly looking for people who can bring fresh perspectives, transferable skills, and new ways of thinking. Many successful careers in Scotch Whisky have started in completely different sectors before people discovered how their skills could be applied within our industry.
For others, it all begins with a passion for the product, the heritage, and the stories behind Scotland's national drink.
Whatever your route, there has never been a better time to explore the opportunities available.
Take a look at the latest vacancies on Spirited Careers and see where your skills could take you.
There are many unconventional routes into the Scotch Whisky industry, and Matthew Farmer’s career shows just how varied those paths can be.
Now Assistant Distillery Manager at Glenturret Distillery, Matthew began his career at a particularly challenging time. Like many from the millennial generation, he left university, without actually graduating, into the 2008 recession with just a dream to establish himself on the career ladder. This led him initially into a career as a chef, before he discovered distilling somewhat unexpectedly along the way.
Since then, Matthew has built nearly 15 years of experience across a range of distilling roles in both Scotland and the United States. Over that time, he has witnessed significant change—not only within the Scotch Whisky industry, but also in the wider employment landscape.
As Matthew observes: “Sometimes it seems our industry is simultaneously admired and accused of being slow-moving and traditional, but change is constantly in the works.”
One of the most pressing areas of change he identifies is the industry’s drive towards net zero. In his view: “This is and will continue to be the biggest challenge we’re facing as an industry and probably a planet. It’s institutional, foundational work, and honestly the whisky production side of things is probably the least of all the changes we’ll see.”
Cover letters help you navigate the job market
Matthew is candid about the challenges he has faced throughout his career progression.
“I’ve been passed over for many more roles than I’ve received, failed a lot more than I’ve succeeded and generally exhausted myself in the process.”
Reflecting on the recruitment practices he encountered when starting out—characterised by online applications, automated screening, and limited personal interaction—he notes that many of these features remain today. However, one piece of advice he feels strongly about stands out. “Please write a cover letter.”
For Matthew, taking the time to present a thoughtful, personalised application can make all the difference in a competitive job market.
Building skills helps you tackle the comfort zone
A defining feature of Matthew’s career has been his openness to developing new skills, even when they fall outside his immediate role.
He frequently finds himself working beyond his comfort zone, but sees this as a key driver of professional growth. These experiences have helped him develop self-sufficiency and strong problem-solving abilities, particularly under pressure.
He highlights an interesting parallel between practical and professional challenges—whether it is manually clearing a blocked mash tun or presenting to a room of highly experienced industry professionals. In both cases, resilience and adaptability are essential.
Playing the long game brings satisfaction
Matthew is an advocate for continuous upskilling and for recognising the importance of the long-term perspective in whisky production. The process of creating a finished product can take years, and he values the patience and commitment that this requires. The big benefit in the
Scotch Whisky industry, of course, is that you can take a bottle home. Matthew is keen to point out that he is working on his collection!
When asked for his most important piece of career advice, he offers a simple but memorable insight: “That gut feeling you have that something’s exciting, or right, or meant to be—or you’re just hungry and could really go for a sandwich? Listen to it.”
Matthew Farmer is Assistant Distillery Manager at Glenturret Distillery, and his career demonstrates that there is no single path into the Scotch Whisky industry—only the willingness to adapt, learn, and take opportunities as they arise.
Remember to check out all the latest vacancies across the industry on our jobs page.
Recently, there seems to have been an increase in the number of sales jobs that have been advertised on this site, and beyond.
A quick glance at the job listings here on Spirited Careers shows titles like “consumer insights lead”; “commercial excellence executive” and “head of private client sales”.
I was inspired to take a closer look at jobs in sales and find out what they’re all about.
An article by Vignesh Saravanan J on Linkedin last year gives a handy paragraph explaining “how sales jobs have changed in the last two decades”. Vignesh asserts:
“In the early 2000s, sales roles were primarily focused on direct selling, relationship building, and field visits. Over time, technology, digital marketing, and AI-driven insights have reshaped the sales process across industries.”
I would agree that the perception of jobs in sales has changed over the years – from someone who doesn’t work in sales! Having worked in retail extensively in the past, I thought I had a reasonable grasp of transactional sales; you have a product or service, you market that product or service; find a potential buyer; and then manage a transaction which results a sale.
But things do seem to be very much more sophisticated now, with job adverts listing a considerable number of skills that they are looking for; and certainly more skills than I felt I had when I was in the retail sector!
Here are some key skills that our members are looking for in sales jobs at the moment:
1. Leadership skills – the ability and confidence to lead high-performing teams of people in order to deliver on an organisation's commercial strategy.
2. Customer service skills – this encompasses things like relationship building, being organised, and understanding people.
3. Product knowledge – very important in the Scotch Whisky industry of course, it’s essential to understand the product which you are selling. It helps your customers build confidence and makes it easier for them to decide to buy.
4. Digital and AI analytics skills – organisations love data. It helps justify the past and predict, as much as possible, the future. If you can build a skill base in this area, it will set you up will for a career in sales.
What do you think? Do you feel you would be cut out for a role in sales? You can take this Skills Assessment from the National Careers Service to give you an indication.
There seem to be plenty of sales jobs to apply for at the moment if you are ready!
When I spoke to Nicola McRedmond, I asked her to describe working in the Scotch Whisky industry in just three words, she replied: “Human. Brave. Authentic.” I don’t think she could have chosen more apt words.
Nicola is the Founder of DrinkAbility, a recruitment and coaching business she launched in 2017 after spending 20 years working in recruitment. Today, she focuses her energy on the global drinks industry, with a particular focus on the Scotch Whisky sector.
Nicola has grown her business during a period of significant change for the industry. Market conditions have affected confidence and hiring plans, creating a lot of uncertainty. At the same time, Nicola has noticed something encouraging: more open, honest conversations about careers, progression, and long-term sustainability than ever before.
Like many people working in Scotch Whisky, Nicola didn’t take a traditional route into the industry. Unsure of her direction when she left school, her love of English led her to study English Literature at the University of Glasgow. Glasgow was a fertile training ground and, alongside her studies, she made the most of the city’s vibrant hospitality scene, gaining what she jokes was her most “relevant studying” behind bars and on restaurant floors.
Nicola clearly remembers how intimidating the job market felt early in her career. “Networking wasn’t explained, mentorship wasn’t common, and asking for help could feel like weakness,” she recalls. The atmosphere was very much “survival of the fittest”, with people battling for every pay rise or promotion.
Fast forward to today, and there’s far more acceptance that careers don’t follow a straight line. Side steps, pivots, portfolio careers, and career breaks are no longer taboo – in fact, they’re often seen as strengths. While the whisky industry may have been slower than some to embrace this shift, especially around people strategy, change is happening. And it has to.
I asked Nicola to draw on her experience and share some advice for jobseekers thinking about moving into, or within, the Scotch Whisky industry. Here are her top tips:
Looking ahead, Nicola feels both excited about the future and reflective about her journey so far. She believes careers are built through people, not job titles, and encourages others to be brave and take considered risks. As she puts it: “Trust your instincts. If something feels right, it probably is. Great opportunities rarely come from playing it safe, and overthinking is often the biggest blocker to progress.”
If you’d like to find out more, and see some of the roles Nicola is currently recruiting for, please see here.
Scotch Whisky is a science. And there are countless examples of science-based roles and apprenticeships in the Scotch Whisky industry. Here is just a small selection of where scientists can get involved with in Scotch Whisky:
Raw material selection – your insight and decisions will shape grain selection, analysing the chemical composition in order to create unique or distinct flavour profiles.
Mashing and fermentation – you will be responsible for controlling the temperature, pH and enzyme activity. This will then influence the flavour, aroma and alcohol content of the whisky.
Distillation – you will have major influence and decision making over the design of distillation equipment, configuring it in order to separate impurities and unwanted by-products.
Maturation and aging – you will be responsible for controlling aging conditions of the whisky by influencing and managing temperature, humidity and the duration of maturation.
Quality control and process optimisation – by monitoring key parameters, you can introduce improvements that can reduce energy use, waste generation and environmental impact.
Packaging – you’ll help make decisions on the design, development and production of packaging, as well as optimising its transportation.
Mechanical engineering graduates are familiar with the design, development, installation, operation and maintenance of anything that has moving parts. This makes it a versatile and attractive qualification that has appeal across almost all industries. With a combination of skills in maths, science, technology, business and management, graduates can find themselves in a breadth of positions – this includes those within whisky distilleries.
What do mechanical engineers do?
A mechanical engineer will be responsible for designing, maintaining, and optimising mechanical systems. Through quick thinking, they are often turned to in emergency situations such as breakdowns and faults, using their problem solving techniques to ensure site downtime is kept to a minimum. They will be skilled in troubleshooting, and ensuring operations apply to quality and safety standards.
A vital role from start to finish
That’s why a mechanical engineer is an important role in any distillery. The whisky industry requires the skills and expertise of engineers to keep everything flowing, optimise operations and contribute to the future success of a distillery. The decisions made by a distillery’s engineers can be monumental and fundamental. Whether it’s day-to-day operations or major changes, there’s always a need for engineers as their role touches almost every stage of the process.
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Getting into the whisky industry
For mechanical engineer roles within a distillery, previous experience working in a distillery or similar industry is preferred, but not essential. Many of the skills required for the role will be achieved and demonstrated through a degree or similar role within a different industry, such as creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking and attention to detail. Distilleries will also welcome applicants with a degree in a related scientific field, a HNC in mechanical engineering or those who have completed an apprenticeship.
There are almost 150 distilleries currently operating across Scotland, so if you’re interested in finding your place within the industry, there are opportunities out there. Past years have also seen a wave of distillery launches from former engineers who are using their expertise to innovate and create unique offerings for whisky lovers.
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The benefits of working as a mechanical engineer in a distillery
Not only is the whisky industry an exciting opportunity for those who enjoy the spirit, it has a host of benefits in terms of your career and job satisfaction.
- The whisky industry offers long-term prospects with many engineers holding their position for a long period of time.
- No day is the same. Given the range of responsibilities and tasks that fall to an engineer, you’ll be able to enjoy varied days working in different areas of a distillery and at different stages of the process.
- You get to use a combination of tradition and manual skills, as well as precision engineering.
- If you enjoy whisky already, it’s an opportunity to turn an interest into a career.
- Distilleries are set in some of the most beautiful areas in the country making it a great workplace and way of life.
- There are always new challenges to tackle in your role as the industry develops and distilleries look for new ways to increase efficiency and sustainability.
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Mechanical engineering salary
Not only is the whisky industry an exciting opportunity for those who enjoy the spirit, it has a host of benefits in terms of your career and job satisfaction.
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Additional content suggestion: There is an opportunity to partner with William Grant & Sons given that they are advertising
Towards the end of last year, I was invited by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) to participate in some schools engagement work in the Elgin, Moray area.
Many Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) members across Scotland engage with DYW, assisting with initiatives to make it easier for employers to connect with students and prospective employees and it’s exciting to hear how energising this type of work is for employers.
SWA member Tomatin Distillery recently worked with DYW in Inverness and Central Highlands to partner with Millburn Academy to create a new mural to celebrate the distillery and all the people, landscape and industry in the region. A really exciting piece of work and such a creative way of bringing in lots of different skills!
Amongst the events I was invited to, I was invited to speak to students at Elgin High School to let them know all about working in a trade association, the SWA being a trade association which works to secure a sustainable future for the Scotch Whisky industry.
I was asked to share my opinions on transferrable skills and to let students know my “top tips” for the workplace.
I must admit that I had given this quite a lot of thought, it’s quite a responsibility to talk to people on the cusp of starting their working lives. I didn’t want to dissuade the students from exploring potential roles in policy, or indeed in the Scotch Whisky industry.
Equally, I think it’s important to always challenge the status quo, and one of the ways that we can do that is to be open about our thoughts and experiences. So here is my list of “top tips” which I sprung on a group of unsuspecting students! What do you think?
What do you think? Do you agree with me? Let me know!
Luxury brand management – find your role in the whisky industry
You can’t deny that whisky oozes glamour and class. For many, it’s one of life’s little luxuries and as an industry, it’s another opportunity to flex your luxury brand management muscles.
With a rich and renowned history, Scotch whisky is a symbol of craft and character that requires a wide range of specialities. With a legacy of much-loved brands, a surge of new releases, global recognition and a wealth of innovation, this industry presents an opportunity for those working in luxury jobs to take on a fresh and exciting challenge.
A bounty of brands
From independent, smaller distilleries to the big names, Scotland is home to a bounty of brands. Every one of these brands need a manager to tell their whisky’s unique story, ensuring that the identity behind it remains recognisable, up to date and exciting to customers.
From Brand Managers to Brand Ambassadors, or Sales and Events Managers, there are a range of roles that could appeal. And these are just a taster of the luxury jobs that are possible within the industry.
The best thing about these types of roles is that many luxury brand management skills will be transferrable. However, we would of course recommend you have a personal appreciation for spirit.
Working in the whisky industry also brings experiences and opportunities that have a more luxury feel such as:
The start of an exciting career journey
You may feel that getting into whisky has its barriers, but it is in fact a very welcoming and collaborative industry.
If you’re already working in jobs with luxury brands, making the switch to the whisky industry will make use of your skills in collaborating, speaking, educating, and your ability to get people excited about a brand and its products.
It can also help for a whisky distillery to learn from someone with a fresh perspective who can bring in new ideas and learnings from their previous luxury job role. Whether you worked in the hotel industry or fashion, there are learnings and knowledge that you can bring to the brand to elevate it event further and enhance those all-important sales figures.
Once your foot is in the door, whisky offers many opportunities to grow and enhance your role. You can build connections, knowledge and experiences to further your career and take advantage of the close-knit community of distilleries in Scotland.
Take a look at our current vacancies here.
I recorded my first video explaining all about careers in Scotch Whisky.
In the video I let you know a little of some of the key points about the industry and hopefully let you know some of the jobs that you might not necessarily think about.
You can watch it here.
What is a “whisky job”? Well, the more that I welcome new vacancies on to the Spirited Careers site, the more I realise that a “whisky job” is almost anything!
The latest Scotch Whisky Economic Impact Report tells us that the Scotch Whisky industry supports over 66,000 jobs in the UK, 41,000 of them being in Scotland. So what do all these people do?
To date, Spirited Careers has advertised over 150 jobs since it was launched in the middle of last year and the site has everything from a physiotherapist role to a reward assistant role.
The majority of roles advertised centre around the production side of this fascinating industry, with engineering and science based roles currently dominating the availability vacancies. This, obviously, demonstrates the need for a STEM focus in candidates.
But I have been noticing that there are some key soft skills that job seekers need to employ to get the most out of their search.
Here are my top tips for your Scotch Whisky industry new year job search.
There are lots of jobs that you might not even know existed. Quite often I find myself trying to find out more about the vacancies because it’s hard to understand where they fit in the world of Scotch Whisky. One which piqued my interest which came in, for example, was “Boutique Assistant”, a role for The Glenturret Distillery which is the location of the Lalique Boutique. Along with the elements of tourism, retail and whisky, this role perfectly illustrated the significance of the luxury market.
Make sure you don’t judge yourself on the name of the job alone. Our SWA members take time and effort to be specific in the job spec about the kinds of candidates they are looking for. Quite often this means taking time to do a analysis of the role against all of your skills. And remember that once you have a skill, you never lose it (however dormant it’s become!). Take this Quality Systems Lead role with Chivas Brothers for example, and note the emphasis on collaboration. Consider how your skills and experience can be applied.
It’s ok to consider what you might want to do in the future and use the job adverts as research into this. If you remember one of my earlier blogs, about Steven Morris, the power of research and creating a vision for your future is more powerful than you might believe. With many of the vacancies you see on Spirited Careers, you’ll find a little bit of inspiration for a future career. For example SWA’s own COO, Liz Gibb, began her education in music. But as she progressed in the world of work, she realised that qualifying as an accountant would (and has) open a lot of doors for career development. Being open to ideas and taking into consideration the whole life aspect of a job can pay dividends.
We all know that the jobs of the future don’t exit yet. There have been perfect examples of these jobs on Spirited Careers. The Glenmorangie Company, not long ago, was looking for a Climate Manager. Ten, even five, years ago, I think I would have been hard pushed to believe this kind of thing would be a role. But here we are with a steady stream of jobs which fit neatly under the term “sustainability”. It’s probably unrealistic for everyone to be an early adopter, but when you’re looking for jobs, do think about what might be around the corner, because you may just find you’re in the right place at the right time.
So, what is a whisky job? At the moment, it’s a lot of things, as demonstrated by me, below, in front of the Spirited Careers banner. I have a whisky job. All my colleagues have whisky jobs… I just have to change the way I look at it.
Have you heard any of these?
There are a lot of common myths in the world of diversity and inclusion swirling about.
D&I, I&D, DEI, EDI… whichever way you look at it, diversity and inclusion is of paramount importance, not only in today’s workplace, but society in general. Here at the SWA we are working to help demystify some unhelpful ideas around diversity and inclusion.
Recently, we invited a panel of D&I specialists to discuss some of the myths around D&I and to offer SWA member companies some support for the challenges they are experiencing, remembering that a lot of these challenges are also opportunities.
One of the key outcomes of the discussion is challenging the perception of fairness. Is fairness itself a actually a myth?
A point which has been expertly made by one of our contributors was that if you remember when you were back in school and in an exam situation, some students, maybe even you, were given extra time to complete their work. Recalling your school days, you probably agree how “normal” this was. Perhaps someone had additional support needs in terms of reading and writing, or they happened to have broken their writing arm just in time for exam season. We never questioned it then. Why do we question it now?
We have been reflecting on how to achieve inclusion, how recognising differences and changing our approach will help support opportunities for all and help build links with all communities. If we want to effect meaningful change, we must be creative, be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and acknowledge that if we stick with the status quo, we will continue to get the same results.
One of our members summed it all up very neatly by referencing a quote she had heard: “It's not a pie that we are dividing up. Giving someone more doesn't mean that someone else has to get less.”
Here are some top tips to help you think about D&I myths:
You will find useful resources for diversity and inclusion in lots of places. Why not start with researching Inclusive Employers?
If you are looking for role a new role, firstly, check our vacancies page and, secondly, you can reference the SWA Diversity and Inclusivity Charter. The Charter is undergoing a refresh but is a great place to start to find out the Scotch Whisky industry's aims in the this area.
Scotch Whisky is diverse drink, from cocktails to on the rocks, we are championing our industry to continue its journey in inclusion!
