World Skills UK is open to any age competitor but you must have under 5 years industry experience.
What are WorldSkills UK Competitions?
Skills competitions are designed by industry specific experts, and assess an individual’s knowledge, practical skills and employability attributes against set criteria in a competitive timed environment.
The benefits of getting involved
Competition activity develops employability and technical skills to high levels of excellence and enhances capacity in attributes valued by employers such as teamwork, problem solving, time management, judgment and working under pressure.
How to get involved
Simply Register your interest!
Stages of the competition
- Entry Level – the first stage of the competition is a photographic entry. This stage tests the competitor to assure you are ready to progress. You will create a design to a schedule and provide photographs of the design from the angles required. The entry must be submitted by the deadline given when you register. The schedule is given to the competitor when they register and the earlier you enter the longer you will have to design your piece!
You must gain 55% pass mark or higher to be invited to a heat. Those who do not get past this stage will all receive valuable feedback to help improve and its a fantastic opportunity to gain competition experience. You will be notified if you have made it through and you will receive your qualifier/heats schedules. You will then be invited to some additional training.
- National qualifiers – These are the heats, which will take place in 3 locations over the UK. If you make it to the heats you choose which location suits you best. In the heats the top 8 highest scorers from all the locations will progress to the final. Within the individual heats the top 3 scorers for that that location will be announced on the day. You will create 3 designs for this stage, 1 you bring with you and 2 are made on the day. Overall The heats will run in June.
Qualifier Heats for 2023
The Floristry School at Sheffield College: 20th June 2023
BCA College: 22nd June 2023
Moreton Morrell College: 27th June 2023
- Announcement of the finalists will take place after all the heats have finished. After the announcements, if you are a finalist, training options will continue and you will be invited to a training day as well to prepare for the final.
- Live finals – The location of this event is still to be confirmed but all 8 finalists will compete at this event. The overall winner is announced at a ceremony (TBC) along with those who score highly enough to receive medals. For the final usually 5 pieces are made over 2 days. This will take place in November.
The WorldSkills UK Floristry Technical Handbook is available to view to ensure you are up to date with what the competition entails.
BFA Help and Guidance
In addition why not visit our Floristry Skills page where you will find videos on techniques, how to prepare your workstation and toolbox for the competition as well as The UK Floristry Judges Guild videos on how to read a schedule and the marking facets.
Why compete?
The WorldSkills UK competition-based training programmes are designed by industry experts and enhances the practical skills and knowledge taught on training courses by assessing an individual’s employability attributes against set criteria in a competitive timed environment. The programme has a real impact on those taking part, with 90% of previous entrants saying their career progression improved after taking part and 86% stated their personal and employability skills had improved.
Our thanks go to Direct2florist for their support of the 2023 WorldSkills heats.
