WildFlowers Australia

There is currently a review of the Floristry Training Package that is being delivered by all TAFEs across Australia as well as a number of professsional floristry training colleges/schools. The existing curriculum is designed by Service Skills Australia, the national organisation that does many retail training packages.

Services Skills Australia has been conducting reviews, workshops and undergoing a consultative process to upgrade the existing floristry training package and WildFlowers Australia is involved in this process to get much needed information on wildflowers included.

So far, Phase One has been completed and Service Skills Australia has confirmed that 4 key changes we wanted made will be included in the new competency standards:

1. All new florists will be trained on what wildflowers exist, when they are in season, etc.

2. All new florists will be trained on how to use our wildflowers in floral design -- not just as wholly Australian native arrangements but also learning to incorporate them with traditional exotic flowers such as roses, gerberas, lilies, etc.

3. All new florists will be taught how to care for wildflowers (ie. post-harvest) so as to get the best life out of them, as well as how to sell them to customers.

4. All new florists will be taught about the licensing arrangements with many Australian wildflowers, so they know what requires license and understand the regulations that pertain to their sale.

Phase Two of the review process is currently underway and a WildFlowers Australia representative is on the committee that will be determining the content of each training module.  This is occurring in November -- with the first drafts of these training modules to be reviewed by industry early in 2009.

Whilst it is a somewhat slow process, by having vital content on wildflowers included in the floristry training package, and by having each floral design student trained on what wildflowers exist and how to use them, we will break the existing chicken and the egg problem that the only students who learn about this currently are those that study under lecturers who teach it -- and most of those lecturers were never taught anything about wildflowers as it does not exist in the curriculum currently.

With the current process underway every student that trains in floral design in Australia -- whether at a TAFE or a professional floristry school, from 2010 will have to be trained on wildflowers. This will change our industry in future years in a drastic way.