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WSET cites USA and China as having greatest potential for growth in wine and spirits education

Published:  26 September, 2016

The Wine and Spirit Education Trust's chief executive Ian Harris has told Harpers that the USA represents "a massive opportunity for growth" and will be the next big focus for the educational trust

The Wine and Spirit Education Trust's chief executive Ian Harris has told Harpers that the USA represents "a massive opportunity for growth" and will be the next big focus for the educational trust.

The WSET already has a strong presence in The States, with some 678 accredited third party examination centres now in 72 countries, and with Harris at the helm has seen double-digit growth over the last decade in terms of student numbers.

"In 2015-2016 over 72,000 students sat for WSET qualifications globally, and as wine markets grow, so does the thirst for knowledge and need for education," said Harris.

"Mainland China is probably the best example of this, with just over 9,000 students enrolled in the last 12 months, whereas seven years ago this was a few hundred. And similarly, Australia now has 3,000 students a year following a bog push a few years ago."

"USA is a massive opportunity for us, so we will have a big focus there next, and China and the Far East continue to be in very strong growth as the wine markets expand," said Harris.

During 2015-2016 the key growth markets for WSET courses were: Mainland China, at +17%; USA, at +15%; UK, at +14%; Canada, at 14%; followed by nations such as Australia, France and the UAE.

The growth in demand for education in such countries, from both trade and consumers alike, typically reflects the growing wine and spirits markets, such as the boom in quality restaurants in the UAE.

Asked if its home market, the UK, had reached saturation point in terms of numbers that were now likely to enrol each year, Harris was adamant that there was still much work to be done.

"It is also paramount that we continue to focus and build our strength in the UK, almost all major multinational wine and spirit companies have a major presence here, and the UK is home turf so we want o continue to grow our business here," said Harris.

"If you take everyone in the trade that is customer facing in the UK, 99.5% have not got a WSET qualification, and they are front of house, or in a shop, serving or selling wines and spirits to customers, so there are still a lot of places to go," continued Harris.

"The whole of wine industry in UK desperate to breath some more margin into the sector and the only way that can happen is if the consumer spends more money. And we need to give consumer a reason to spend more money, and education plays a very important part in that."

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