Believe it or not, Spirited Careers launched in 2021.
Since then, the SWA has had the privilege of advertising well over 900 opportunities across the Scotch whisky industry.
Every vacancy tells a different story, and each one represents an important moment for both employers and candidates. And together they reveal something much, much bigger: careers are changing, and so are the skills employers value.
As we approach two exciting milestones – Spirited Careers’ fifth birthday in November and our 1000th advertised vacancy – it feels like the perfect opportunity to reflect on what we've learned, not just about recruitment in the Scotch whisky industry, but about the changing world of work more broadly.
A lot has happened over the past five years.
We've experienced a global pandemic, something which fundamentally changed ways of working, rapid advances in artificial intelligence and one of the most unpredictable recruitment markets in recent memory.
If you've been following the headlines recently, you could be forgiven for thinking now isn't the best time to be looking for a new opportunity.
Recent reporting by the Financial Times suggests the UK jobs market has become more competitive, with employers taking a more cautious approach to recruitment and graduate vacancies falling to their lowest level since the pandemic. Yet, according to the Office for National Statistics, despite there being fewer available roles, there are still hundreds of thousands of vacancies across the UK. So, employers continue to recruit despite a more challenging economic climate.
How can vacancies be falling while employers are still talking about skills shortages?
The answer is that today's labour market isn't simply about the number of jobs available. It's about the skills employers are looking for.
While organisations may be recruiting more selectively, they're continuing to invest in people who can solve problems, work collaboratively, adapt to change and bring specialist expertise. The opportunities haven't disappeared – the qualities that employers value are evolving and the market is changing.
What have our vacancies taught us
Regular readers will know that one of the biggest things we've learned is that there is no such thing as a "typical" career in Scotch Whisky.
Over the past five years we've advertised opportunities in engineering, production, finance, HR, marketing, sustainability, visitor experience, logistics, science, innovation and many more.
Today's vacancies continue to reflect that diversity. Current opportunities include a Driver with Berry Bros & Rudd, Pernod Ricard's Distribution Lead job and a Quality Technician at William Grant & Sons. Together they span logistics, supply chain and manufacturing, demonstrating once again the breadth of careers that keep the industry moving.
Different roles, different employers and very different career paths, yet they all have one thing in common. They're looking for people who can bring knowledge, curiosity and fresh perspectives to their organisations.
That challenges another common misconception.
Many people assume that working in Scotch Whisky means having years of industry experience behind you. Of course, some roles require specialist technical knowledge, but many rely on skills that people have developed in other sectors.
Behind every bottle are engineers, marketers, finance professionals, scientists, visitor experience teams, HR specialists, logistics experts and many others whose experience may have started somewhere completely different.
Sometimes your value changes before you do
When people think about changing careers, or simply progressing in their chosen path, it's easy to assume the challenge is becoming someone different. We often tell ourselves we need to learn a completely new set of skills or start again in an unfamiliar industry. Sometimes that's true. But often, the bigger change has happened somewhere else.
Think about a painting that hangs unnoticed for years before suddenly becoming highly prized. The painting hasn't changed. What has changed is the way people see it and the value they place on it.
Skills can be viewed in much the same way.
Qualities like good judgement, curiosity, communication and the ability to build strong relationships have always mattered. They aren't new, and they haven't suddenly appeared because technology has advanced. What has changed is the environment in which we work. As organisations adapt to new technologies, changing customer expectations and different ways of working, those long-established qualities appear to have become increasingly valuable.
That's an encouraging thought for anyone considering a career move. It may be that the skills you've built over many years are more relevant today than they've ever been. Rather than starting from scratch, the opportunity may lie in recognising the value of what you already bring and thinking about where those strengths could make the biggest contribution.
It's something we've seen time and again through the vacancies advertised on Spirited Careers. Employers are looking for engineers, marketers, finance professionals, scientists, visitor experience teams and many others, but they also value people who are adaptable, collaborative and eager to learn. Those qualities aren't tied to one profession or one industry, and they often travel much more easily than people imagine.
Looking ahead
The jobs market will continue to evolve. New technologies will emerge, different skills will come into demand and careers will continue to change in ways we can't always predict.
If there's one thing we've learned so far, it's that opportunity rarely stands still… and neither do people.
Whether you're taking your first career step, considering a move into a different industry or simply looking for your next challenge, don't let the headlines make the decision for you.
One of the privileges of managing Spirited Careers is seeing the incredible variety of people and opportunities that make up our industry. Looking back across nearly 1000 vacancies, it's impossible not to notice how careers, and the people behind them, continue to evolve. We can't wait to see where the next 1000 opportunities take us.
