Science and engineering graduates with an interest in the Irish whiskey industry have until the end of the month to apply for two places on a specialised two-year graduate programme.

Successful candidates will learn from master distillers during the programme which is delivered by Jameson at the Irish Distillers' production division in Midleton Distillery, Co Cork and at its bottling plant in Fox and Geese, Co Dublin.

Participants will work alongside the senior production management teams in both locations where Brian Nation, master distiller at Midleton Distillery, says they will "learn from the best."

“The placement is challenging, but incredibly rewarding,” he says, adding that candidates who are successful “will work collaboratively in cross-functional teams helping in the development of new product trials and innovations, identifying production and product line opportunities, in addition to process improvements.”

“The programme has produced some incredible alumni over the past seven years and we would encourage science or engineering graduates to consider applying - we turn water and barley into whiskey, imagine what we could do with your career,” he added.

The Irish whiskey industry is currently booming. Sold in 135 countries, sales in the US alone jumped 12.8 per cent to $897 million (€718 million) last year and the industry is predicting exports are expected to double to 144 million bottles by 2020.

Irish Distillers recently announced an investment of over €150 million in its sites in Cork and Dublin. The company, which is a subsidiary of the French drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard, is expanding its operations to meet demand for its products, which it says is accelerated by the continued growth of Jameson.

Interested parties can apply for the Jameson graduate distiller programme before the deadline of Wednesday October 31st. More information is available from jamesongraduateprogramme.com.