Case Study

Building future-ready talent with Diageo

Heriot-Watt’s collaboration with Diageo shows how industry-aligned education can help build the skills, confidence and technical capability needed for the future of brewing and distilling. Together, we developed a bespoke Graduate Apprenticeship programme that combines academic learning with hands-on experience in Diageo’s production environments. Apprentices develop technical expertise, sustainability awareness and applied problem-solving skills, supported by academic mentorship and workplace-based training. The programme responds directly to one of the sector’s most pressing challenges: the need for a strong, future-ready talent pipeline that can support sustainable production, process optimisation and long-term competitiveness. Alumni such as Kelly Fraser, now a Packaging and Automation Manager at Diageo, show how this approach can support career progression while strengthening the technical capability industry needs for the future.