Sponsorship
Each candidate must be sponsored by a person normally within his/her own company, who will be approved by the MAGB. The name of the sponsor must be declared at the time of registration. The sponsor will act as the candidate’s adviser and assist them with their preparation for the examination.
Sponsors will be assisted in their task by receiving a “Guide to Sponsors”, once the candidate has been accepted by the MAGB, or by prior application of the Sponsor to the MAGB.
Sponsors will be expected to ensure that candidates have the opportunity to receive instruction in all aspects of practical and theoretical malting and are properly advised on how to prepare for the examination. It is anticipated that some of this learning and training will take place during normal working hours as agreed by the MAGB Executive.
Experience Prior to Entry
Candidates preparing themselves for this examination must acquire a basic theoretical and practical knowledge of all aspects of malting. They will be expected to demonstrate understanding and practical experience of the malting process and related operations; they will also be expected to possess a basic understanding of the commercial, scientific and engineering aspects of malting.
The candidate’s log can be used to list the candidate’s relevant work experience and responsibilities. It is recommended that this experience should include a minimum time in the following departments:-
Barley purchasing – 1 month
Barley intake – 2 months
Barley handling and management – 3 months
Malt processing – 6 months
Malt handling and despatch – 2 months
Quality control and laboratory – 3 months
Engineering services – 3 months
The minimum times stated are for your guidance but it is important that candidates gain experience in other areas of their respective businesses as this will be advantageous in structuring answers during the examination. In addition, some experience should be gained at a brewery and a distillery. If you are a Brewer or Distiller Maltster you must be familiar with the techniques, practices, quality requirements and analytical methods of the Sales Maltster and vice-versa.
It is the Examiners’ experience that candidates who fail generally do so because of a lack of breadth and depth of experience across the whole field of technical malting.
Sponsors should assess and deliver training in areas where the candidates experience is limited. The candidate and the sponsor must ensure the candidate is aware of the major factors affecting the UK malting industry.
The Award
The Maltsters’ Association of Great Britain will award a certificate to successful candidates. This qualification will be ‘The Malting Diploma’ awarded by the MAGB, and holders are entitled to use the designation Dipl.Malt. In addition, those candidates achieving a sufficiently high mark in all sections of the examination will be awarded a ‘Pass with Distinction’.
Drawing up the list of results is the responsibility of the Examination Board (EB) on behalf of The Maltsters Association of Great Britain (MAGB). The EB exercises judgement as to whether or not each candidate has reached the standard required to qualify for the award of a Malting Diploma and this decision is final in that there is no right of appeal to any other body outside MAGB. At each stage of the award process, careful checks are made to ensure that the EB makes decisions on the basis of full and accurate information. Further information can be found by clicking on this sections title.
Timetable
The final date for registration for the examination is shown below. The Registration Form here on the MAGB website is for on-line completion.This does require input from your sponsor.
