Today’s floral creation and flower delivery industry is highly competitive. The florists of the future will be in need of finely honed skills, outstanding creativity and more than likely formal qualifications in order to develop their craft enough to succeed as a professional florist. There are three common pathways to navigate when seeking a career as a florist.
Hobby to Career
Making the leap from hobby to career is likely to be more than challenging. Realistically speaking, even the most proficient hobbyist will probably be required to complete some level of formal training. Part time college courses (evening classes etc) can make a great starting point. Potential students must be sure to identify which course most adequately meets their needs. For example, modules surrounding common business elements of floristry like online flower delivery can be highly beneficial for those intending to be self-employed.
Full-time Study
There are around a hundred UK colleges and universities that offer floristry-based courses ranging from landscape design to advanced floral art. Courses that combine floristry and business are increasingly popular. An elementary knowledge encompassing online flower delivery, seasonal costing and so on could go a long way.
Top-up courses are a great way to consistently develop skill set qualifications, whilst affording working florists the time to get going on the daily flower delivery.
Practical Training
On-the-job training is a particularly attractive option to those unwilling or unable to study full time. However the lack of formal qualification could be damaging should a novice florist wish to move on to another shop. Government incentives like the Modern Apprenticeship Scheme help trainees to gain NVQ qualifications in their chosen field whilst developing commercial skills. A clear advantage of NVQ training is structured learning.
Perhaps the most pressing problem faced by would-be florists is simply finding a business that will take them on. On-the-job training is time consuming and potentially costly to florist-owners. Many will shun the notion of novice training in favour of hiring a collage-qualified trainee.
Floristry can provide many thrilling job opportunities – the trick is to plan ahead and practice, practice, practice!