Something really good is brewing in Baltimore!

According to a Black Enterprise, the city of Baltimore is aiming to change the 1 percent of Black people who make up beer brewers within the country through their new program with Irish brewer Guinness.

The two are joining forces to bring more diversity to the beer industry through the city’s Diversity Apprenticeship Program.

Created through the Guinness Gives Back Baltimore Fund, this partnership between the city of Baltimore and Guinness Open Gate Brewery will help to train the new crop of aspiring beer brewers over the course of the next five years with an important goal in mind — to help create career pathways into hospitality for marginalized groups.

Per PR Newswire, the fund includes a $1 million commitment that will focus on three areas in the Baltimore region’s Black community: equal representation, community empowerment, and economic justice.

Although Guinness previously announced the initial commitment back in June in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, they have now decided what organizations their contributions will support within the Baltimore community. They include the Baltimore Action Legal Team, Maryland Food Bank, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Job Opportunities Task Force, and Visit Baltimore Education and Training Foundation.

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“Visit Baltimore is humbled by Guinness Open Gate Brewery’s investment in our Diversity Apprenticeship Program,” said Al Hutchinson, Visit Baltimore President & CEO, in a press statement. “Due to the financial impacts of COVID-19, we would not be able to reinvigorate this important program without Guinness’s generous support. The partnership will allow us to provide professional growth opportunities to local persons of color and individuals from communities that have historically been underrepresented in the travel and tourism industry. The program will offer unparalleled on-the-job experience working with a destination marketing organization and a global brand. We’re looking forward to officially kicking off this program in 2021.”

Not only will the 600-hour paid apprenticeship provide members with the resources and tools needed to succeed in the brewing industry, but it also guarantees employment for all graduating participants upon program completion either by a partner organization through the Searchwide Global recruitment firm or Visit Baltimore.

Currently, only BIPOC applicants living in the Greater Baltimore area are eligible to apply.

For more details on how to secure your spot in this new program visit here.

City of Baltimore

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