Geiq Oc Agri, based in Montblanc, offers a unique concept of professional integration in the wine industry

La promotion 2024 d’alternants pour devenir agents viticoles a débuté ses classes ce jeudi 1er août.

The association brings together around fifty member wine companies in Hérault and welcomed the 2024 class of future wine agents, who will be trained in work-study programs on the farms.

For many years, the wine industry has been facing serious recruitment problems, and not just at harvest time. To address this, the employer group for integration and qualification (Geiq) Oc Agri, an association based in Montblanc that brings together around fifty member companies in Hérault, has set up a work-study program.

On Thursday, August 1, some 28 adults aged 18 to 60, men and women, met in Clermont-l'Hérault to begin their twelve or six-month training cycle, leading to the wine agent certificate. “The goal is to train them and integrate them because the wine industry suffers from a lack of qualified labor”, says Sandrine Miquel, employment and training coordinator at Geiq.

Year-round work and not just seasonal work

Certainly, employment in viticulture is often seasonal “but it is modernizing and there is also work to the year”, continues the manager, especially since the Geiq works hand in hand with the Gedar (departmental agricultural and rural group) to offer permanent positions throughout the year. "This makes it possible to retain an employee in one or more companies by allowing them to work all year round".

The profiles are diverse and varied, sometimes far from employment even though they must be able to work. "Upstream, we make it clear that these are outdoor jobs, quite physical and difficult, although mechanization has made it possible to do so. reduce many tasks. We also offer those who wish three days immersed in a farm so that they become familiar with the work required.

Essential wine agents

Created in 2010 by a handful of dedicated men, Geiq OC Agri is an association chaired by Denis Carretier. It is led and managed by winegrowers, winemakers and cooperative wineries from Hérault who are committed to work-study training. The integration path offered by Geiq aims to obtain the Wine Agent Certificate. This person carries out all the maintenance and regulation operations of the vine: from planting the vine to vinifying the harvested grapes. Provided over 12 months, this work-study training allows you to follow a seasonal cycle of the vine, especially since “the training is based on the plant, says Sandrine Miquel. The courses take place during off-peak periods and the rest of the time, the apprentice is with the winemaker or the cellar".

Among the 28 apprentices, we have both young people who have dropped out of school and those with a "bac + 5" who are retraining. "That's also what's interesting. People come to us to find or rediscover a job that makes sense".

Geiq Oc Agri, ZAE de l'Europe in Montblanc. Contact: 04 67 09 05 92 ; contatc@geiqocagri.fr.