Wednesday 6th July 2022
From the Newsletter of The Friends Of Warminster Maltings, Edition 41, 6th July 2022:
We pride ourselves that we have a very low turnover of staff at the Maltings, three current members being part of the original team that was already here when I arrived in 2001. So, it is unusual for us to talk about new staff, let alone three new staff since my last Newsletter. However, two of them are additional members to the team.
Lisa Conduit has joined Avril Royster and Wendy Scott as a third member of our administration force. This is initially to allow Avril and Wendy to drop down to a four-day week (each taking alternate long weekends), but also as a first step towards addressing the matter of succession another day. Lisa lives in the town, and is able to walk to work, something that many other people might now be thinking about.
Out in the Maltings, Jake Scutt and Brandon Bownes, are partly replacing a member of staff who left us in the Spring, but also providing an extra pair of hands as our workload continues to build. Again, both Jake and Brandon live in the town, which is so helpful when addressing the 24/7 focus we have to maintain on the malting process.
Lisa Conduit
Complimentary to these new appointments, I have introduced an additional formal training programme for all our staff, which sets out to explain in greater detail the whole process of malting, from barley production on the farm, a much more detailed insight into the separate procedures in the malthouse and including an explanation of all the grades of malt we produce, and for whom they are intended.
My first two “students’ have been Nathan Ball and Nic Corper, both are established “hands on’ maltsters, but both keen to gain a better and wider understanding of the tasks they perform each day. My weekly tutorials have one more session to go, after which I will turn the procedure around, and invite Nathan and Nick to review and discuss each topic with me, to ensure they have gained something of a better grasp of the intricacies of malting practice. It is all about encouraging a shared ownership of everything we do at the Maltings, and a shared commitment to perfection. If this programme has proved successful, Jake, Brandon, and Lisa will be invited to follow suit.
Robin Appel.
www.warminster-malt.co.uk/edition-41-friends-of-warminster-maltings/