Imogen Mullholland harvested her first vintage of grapes while still in high school and studying to be a trainee viticulturist.

She was among a number of Marcellin Technical College students who had begun a new program aimed at developing practical viticulture skills, through work placements with vineyard contractors and wineries in McLaren Vale, while working towards their SACE.

"It was a great opportunity for me to get my hands dirty and learn how to produce good-quality grapes," says Imogen, who undertook a Certificate III in Food Processing through River Murray Training.

"Sampling the grapes was the first task of my placement, and that is done to determine when they will be ready to be harvested.

"I then did vine training, cutting back the vines, and when the grapes were ready to be harvested I drove the tractor and collected them."

Imogen's job placements included collecting grapes at Gemtree and Kangarilla Road vineyards, making the most of the eight-week harvest period, before returning to school.

"It was amazing to be able to finish my schooling in a way that links with the job I wanted to be doing and to gain the SACE. It doesn't have to be just studying in a classroom," she says.

Troy Elliker, Operations Manager of The Terraces, where Imogen did her work placement, welcomed the initiative as a way to help address a skills shortage in the viticulture industry.

"It's hard to find good operators in this industry, so it's good that courses are being offered like this and good that students are responding as they need to get experience," he says.

"Imogen has learnt about all aspects of viticulture including processing, planting, irrigation, sampling, and disease control," he adds.