Ko’olau Distillery has many great opportunities for service members to gain a foothold in the Distilling and Service industry. Members of Ko’olau Distillery Skillbridge program have options to pursue various specialties within our organization beyond distilling. Spaces are limited and prompt application is key to securing a position. It is not uncommon for applicants to contact our staff a year or more from their Skillbridge start date to begin the interview and application process. These opportunities include apprentice distilling, sales, marketing, and bartending.
Our objective for the Skillbridge program is to provide participants a jumping off point for positions that require experience to gain entry and command the best wage possible.
Our Apprentice Distiller Skillbridge program teaches the necessary skills to understand distillery operations, the practical application of common distillery equipment and packaging of fermented alcohol products. A firm understanding of the science behind mashing, fermenting, and distilling will be gained.
Our Sales Associate Skillbridge program teaches the necessary skills to understand the three-tier system of distribution in the alcohol industry. Key factors to success such as product knowledge, communication, customer relationships and building the foundations to close a sale. This program is split between time in the office creating a sales strategy and lead development, the remainder of the time is spent in the market initiating sales in person, using your product knowledge, communication and customer relations skills to sell a product.
Our bartender Skillbridge program teaches the necessary skills to understand basic bartending skills that are built upon through repetition. Bartenders learn mixology, cocktail creation, and specialty cocktails. Additional skills include cash handling, inventory, customer service and interpersonal skills necessary to be a successful bartender. Bartenders are certified by the Honolulu Liquor Commission to responsibly serve customers of legal age.
Our Marketing Assistant Skillbridge program provides those interested in social media marketing and promotions the opportunity to hone their skills in a real world application. We teach the necessary skills to understand business marketing and media needs. We provide opportunities to use our business social media platforms to build skills in photography, content creation, social media marketing and strategy development. The ideal applicant has some level of experience with social media platforms, and content creation tools like Canva.
Skillbridge Manager: Olivia Babiec
Contact: olivia@koolaudistillery.com
