Flat beer and second-rate cocktails may become a thing of the past after the introduction of a new bartending qualification.

The qualification will recognise presentation and taste as well as customer service. Candidates for the Professional Bar Tenders’ Course will also have to be able to “accurately free-pour” a drink and have a detailed knowledge of standard equipment and a wide range of spirits, wines and beers.

The course, developed with the backing of the police, will also help to ensure that pub and bar staff are educated in promoting responsible drinking and bring a standardisation of quality to existing training courses. It will lead to a City & Guilds qualification and will be regarded as equivalent to a GCSE at grade A* to C.

As beer and wine sales continue to decrease and more cocktails are served, the demand for skilled bartenders is increasing, according to a spokesman from City & Guilds, which is developing the qualification with City College Plymouth and Plymouth Gin, the distiller. Unlike many training courses run by pub and bar chains, the new course leads to an official qualification, accredited by the examinations regulator, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).

Sue Georgious, of the QCA, said that the course would mean that bar staff would have a qualification that everyone could understand. “This will not only lead to a better skilled work-force, but also reflect the industry’s drive to encourage more responsible drinking,” she said.

The qualification is part of a drive to ensure that training provided by employers is accredited by external bodies under a new Qualification Credit Framework (QCF).

The perfect tipple

The Professional Bar Tenders’ qualification will cover eight outcomes, which will be assessed by written, short-answer questions, a pour test and the production of cocktails (one using drink-finding techniques):

— Accurately free-pour a drink
— Select and use equipment
— Display cocktail-making techniques
— Display knowledge of cocktail specifications
— Preparation of beers, wines and spirits
— Prepare the bar and deliver good service
— Display good knowledge of spirits
— Display knowledge of responsible serving of alcohol

Source: Professional Bar Tenders Course

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