What to consider when opening a Florist retail shop or studio
Karen Barnes offers some sage advice on setting up your own floristry business.
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Training
Becoming a Florist
There are a variety of ways you can work in Floristry. Formal qualifications are not crucial however there are a number of floristry training courses & qualification routes you can take.
Careers & Qualifications
There are four main training and/or work experience options
A combination of college-based training and work experience
Shop-based training on the job with no formal assessment or qualification
Other training courses and qualifications are available but are not widely recognised within the floristry community or by awarding bodies. Some courses do not offer qualifications but are attendance-based or web-based. These can be classed as CPD (Continuous Professional Development) but they cannot be used as a qualification to join accreditation schemes.
Floristry degree-level courses are a fairly new addition in floristry education. Entry to those courses can be gained with the same criteria as other degree courses. No previous floristry experience is necessary.
We have put together a handy list of Training Providers and the courses that they offer for you.
For those florists wanting to set themselves apart, there is also the Professional Florist Accreditation offered by the Institute of Professional Florists
College-based training
College-based training
This will teach you many of the skills you need to get started on a career in floristry. All training routes lead to qualifications awarded by two main awarding/examining bodies:
The range of courses and classifications vary by awarding body, but all will be at Award, Certificate or Diploma level. The choice of which course to study may well be primarily dictated by geographical availability, which varies considerably throughout the UK.
Floristry Apprenticeships
An apprenticeship is a full-time, employed job with accompanying training and assessment; you earn while you learn. Depending on the qualification level being studied for, they are at least 12 months long.
Apprenticeships lead to a recognised qualification such as a City & Guilds or BTEC award. Trailblazer Apprenticeships are currently only available in England.
To become an apprentice, you must be 16 or over and not already in full-time education.
Apprentices are required to study for at least 20% of their working hours, at a college, university or other accredited training provider. Training is moderated by a college or approved training provider who will visit the workplace on a regular basis. Some colleges / training providers also provide apprentices with ‘off the job’ training to supplement the skills developed in the workplace. Apprentices must complete assessments during and at the end of their apprenticeship.
There is a Trailblazer Apprenticeship in Floristry.
How are apprenticeships funded?
Large employers pay into an apprenticeship levy scheme.
Small employers share the cost of training and assessing apprentices with the government. This is called ‘co-investment’. The employer currently pays 5% towards the cost of apprenticeship training and the government pays 95%, up to the funding band maximum, which is £5000 for floristry. Co-investment funding is paid direct to the training provider, not the employer.
Employers access training funds by setting up a government-run apprenticeship service account, where they can:-
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get apprenticeship funding
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find and save apprenticeships
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find, save and manage training providers
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recruit apprentices
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add and manage apprenticeships.
Some training providers will do all of this on behalf of the employer. For more information visit the UK Government's Apprenticeship resource hub.
Apprenticships
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