For a country with an international wine industry steeped in 350 years of history, South Africa cannot afford to underestimate the importance of access to people equipped with the skills, required to compete on the international stage as well as tapping into the opportunities of the local market.

"The South African wine industry has excelled in creating wines that can compete with any other wine-producing country in terms of quality and diversity," says Willemien Law, head of marketing at USB Executive Development USB-ED, the public executive development and training company of the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB).

"It has become apparent that South Africa is in dire need of the human capital required in the most important link of the wine industry's chain, namely the marketing of the product locally and internationally and the management of the industry's reputation for diversity and quality."

One of the main reasons for this dearth of marketing and management skills can be ascribed to the rapidly changing state of the wine industry. "People in marketing and managerial positions are faced with an industry that can at best be described as fluid and temperamental at the worst," says Law. "The intrinsic of wine and the related industries are complex and ever-changing.

"Take wine tourism, for example. Ten years ago wine tourism was seen as a something of a nice-to-have, a manner through which a winery could sell a few cases of wine by cutting out the middleman and make a few extra rand by providing wine-tasters and visitors a lunch.

"Today wine tourism is a dynamic economic force in its own right - 25% of the total value of the South African wine industry is derived at through tourism, and it is set to take an even bigger slice of the cake. Yet, how many of South Africa's 600 or so wineries are actually in touch with the latest research and international trends in wine tourism so as to be able to manage their brands tourism potential?"

This has led USB-ED to continually update the content and structure of its Programme in Wine and Tourism Management, a five day program aimed at any person working in the wine industry or a support industry that needs to be equipped with the tools required to play a dynamic role in the fields of management and marketing.

The program begins with a thorough two-day course in Wine Business Management offered by recognised expert in the field Steyn Heckroodt. This course assists attendees in, inter alia, identifying and understanding the four "pillars" of management: Planning, Organising, Leading and Control.

"We actually find many people attending the course solely to be refreshed in these underlying management fundamentals," says Law. "Just as the wine industry, management is an ever-changing process and the course begins by equipping students with the skills through the latest studies, with practical exercises playing a major role."

This section of the course also focuses in achieving profitable performance in a competitive environment, and with the industry being more competitive than ever at this point in time, this will be one of the program's highlights.

The following segment is a two-day course in Applying Effective Marketing Strategies offered by Dr Kosie de Villiers, who will also preside over the one-day Wine Tourism section during the final day.

In Applying Effective Marketing Strategies students will learn about capturing market opportunities and creating sustainable competitive advantages. "This is especially relevant to the wine industry where there has to be looked beyond traditional markets in order for the industry to survive, as well as dealing with the changing face of the industry in terms of aspects such as changing consumer trends and certain new regulations aimed at limiting the promotion and advertising of any alcohol product," says Law.

The program will also give insight into the international wine scenario, where trends and consumer patterns are also continually changing, making it ever more challenging for South African wines to grab a share of this competitive global market.

The final day's offering, Wine Tourism, will not only highlight the importance of wine tourism in South Africa, but will assist course-goers in developing wine tourism strategies to improve revenue and to add value to a specific brand. "This includes understanding the various lifestyle dynamics involved in the tourism industry as well as understanding the specific needs of the customer," says Law.

Law says one of the magical features of the wine industry is that it is continually changing as consumers' preferences, whims and requirements shift. "This definitely also makes the wine industry one of the most challenging places in which to work as a marketer. It is thus imperative to be kept at the top of your game, and education is imperative in achieving this."

The program will take place from 14 to 18 September 2009 at the USB campus in Bellville. Contact Arina Basson at (021) 918 4472 or e-mail arina.basson@usb-ed.com.