Direct2florist, the business that connects flower senders directly with the world's leading independent florists, is championing the latest wave of up-and-coming floristry talent by sponsoring the 2023 WorldSkills UK Floristry competition.

The WorldSkills UK competition-based programme encourages florists from across the UK with less than five years of experience to prove they have the skills needed to flourish in the profession – and compete for the UK at the WorldSkills finals, hosted by France in 2024.

Competitors in World Skills Heat at Sheffield Floristry School

Competitors in World Skills at BCA

Competitors in World Skills Heat at Moreton Morrell College

The competition goes beyond design skills and covers business acumen, buying skills, health and safety, and much more. The programme is designed by industry experts to enhance the practical skills and knowledge taught on training courses by assessing an individual's employability attributes against set criteria in a competitive environment.

Simon Stirling, Managing Director and founder of Direct2florist, said: "Direct2florist was founded by a family of florists to support independent florists around the world. Local florists offer superior quality, design, and customer service compared to the big retailers, which is why we strive at every level to champion them, support their businesses, and ensure there's a steady stream of new talent entering and thriving in the sector. Sponsoring the WorldSkills UK Floristry competition is our latest way of achieving this."

Working alongside the UK organising partner, the British Florist Association, Direct2florist has ensured as many talented new florists enter the WorldSkills UK competition as possible. Following an initial selection stage based on photographic entries, a series of national heats took place nationwide in June, with winners progressing to a national final later this year. The celebration of world-class skills will culminate in the announcement of the winners at a glittering awards ceremony on Friday 17 November at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Wendy Rea, Business Development Manager at Direct2florist, commented: "We are proud to continue our support for this wonderful profession by sponsoring the 2023 WorldSkills UK Floristry competition. Direct2florist is a forward-thinking company, and we are delighted to be supporting an initiative which will help encourage the next generation of floristry professionals."

"This is all about helping to enhance standards across floristry and showcase the best new talent. This year's heats were all highly competitive and of a really strong standard, which has to be good news for florists, our profession, and consumers alike."

WorldSkills supports young people across the world via competitions-based training, assessment, and benchmarking, with members' national teams ultimately testing their ability to achieve world-class standards across multiple professions in the biennial 'skills olympics'.

For florists who have taken part previously, the competition has had a big impact. According to the British Florist Association, a massive 90% of previous entrants say their career progression improved after taking part and 86% stated their personal and employability skills had improved.