With the economy slowing, there’s been a massive upswing in people following their passions and opening businesses based on their hobbies. Additionally, with the popular of Pinterest, Etsy and other creative social media sites, there’s also been an increase in demand in arts and design. Knowing these two facts, would you guess be surprised that one of the most popular career changes is in the UK today is learning how to become a Florist?
Perhaps it’s because there are less gender barriers to becoming a Florist these days? Once of a day, it was almost exclusively female but with the advent of a more inclusive society and the popularity of the ‘pink pound’, more and more men and gay men are becoming florists too.
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So how does one become a Florist?
Of course, with the popularity of booming a Florist booming, there are far more avenues to joining the industry today then in recent years.
Work in a shop – and hope
Once of a day, a Florist was more of a ‘time-served’ job, where one would start work as an assistant or apprentice, and learn the business from the ground up. However, there usually wasn’t much in the way of education or training, as the young worker would often be overworked with long hours and hopefully, a bit of ‘on the job’ learning as they went.
However, the downside to this route was it generally involved the right opportunity arising for the potential Florist to bloom (no pun intended). Usually when the owner retired, they would offer the apprentice a chance to ‘buy out’ or they would simply sell the business on and bypass the apprentice. needless to say, it wasn’t a reliable way to become a Florist as it relied too much on chance.
Learn online
These days, there are far more resources to help the budding Florist (no pun intended). As with most hobbies and skills, there’s a vast array of terrific content on flower arranging online, however how one practices is always difficult. Even if the keen would-be-florist buys flowers to practice with, there’s no supervision so it usually is a little questionable if it’s the best way to learn.
Attend a reputable class and become certified
Last, and certainly not least, is perhaps the most reliable. Find an established education and vocational course, run by a recognised group of experts (such as London Flower School) that can certify your training as an expert Florist when you graduate.
The added advantage of attending a course to learn to be a Florist is networking. At London Flower School, there will likely be other potential florists who may know of opportunities for you, and more likely still is the educational establishment/course provider has industry contacts who are looking to recruit new Florists.
Finally, there’s also the chance to ‘go it alone’ with your new-found Floristry skills. There’s an abundance of opportunities as a self-employed Florist from London Flower School, such as wedding arrangements, interior floristry for offices and partnership with creative agencies for events, shows etc.