Wednesday 18 September 2024, London — WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust), the global leader in drinks education, has seen a 15 per cent increase in candidates for its Level 4 Diploma in Wines course globally.
A total of 134,000 candidates took a WSET qualification last year – its second highest number of annual candidates to date – with its Diploma course showing the biggest increase across its courses.
The total figure includes 1,962 candidates from 19 countries who took a Diploma exam during the last academic year. Top markets for the Diploma were the UK, USA, Hong Kong, Japan and Mainland China.
This comes as WSET prepares to celebrate its 55th anniversary with a special dinner at the Vintners’ Hall in the City of London, hosted by the Vintners’ Company tomorrow (Thursday 19 September).
WSET has other reasons to celebrate, following several strategic developments over the past year, which include:
- The launch of its new beer qualifications in January – WSET’s first new drinks category in 10 years. It currently offers Level 1 and 2 Awards in Beer in 21 countries.
- In April WSET launched a new Level 2 Award in Sake, which built on its Level 1 Award in Sake. The launch of this course completed WSET’s suite of sake qualifications.
- Major changes to WSET’s exam processing system, which have led to faster results for candidates for its Level 1 and 2 Awards.
- A successful year for WSET’s Partnership programme. It supported 17 projects to improve access to drinks education for around 500 people, from under-represented communities and those facing financial hardship in 11 countries, to drive a more inclusive and diverse drinks industry.
In addition, WSET is collaborating with its partners and stakeholders in shaping the future of the drinks industry, especially on diversity and inclusion. It is working with The Drinks Trust and the WSTA (Wine & Spirit Trade Association), on a new industry-wide programme called Drinks United, set up in response to issues identified around safeguarding and equity for women working in the industry. The programme’s ultimate aim is to create an ‘inclusive and equitable UK drinks industry, where everyone feels welcome, safe and supported’.
Michelle Brampton, WSET’s CEO, said:
“The 2023-24 academic year was a challenging time for us, as it has been for the global drinks industry, so it’s fantastic to see this uptake for our Diploma courses. There’s clearly growing demand for this prestigious qualification, both within the drinks industry and among wine enthusiasts.
“I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved as an organisation over the past year – especially launching our new beer qualifications, digitising our exam results and helping to make drinks education more accessible through our Partnership programme.”
About WSET
WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) is the global leader in drinks education. Founded in 1969, and recognised by the awarding body Ofqual, we have awarded over 1.5 million people with a qualification since our inception. The courses are open to both industry professionals and interested enthusiasts who can take them across four levels, from one-day beginner to expert level diploma. Available in more than 15 languages and in over 70 countries, our qualifications have a strong reputation worldwide as the industry standard for knowledge. Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn
