Industry activities include: floristry design; floristry creation; retailing; and delivery.  The floristry industry is not recognised as a profession which means that the levels of skills required are undervalued and often misrepresented resulting in a shortage of suitably qualified and motivated recruits.

Key statistics on the industry:

• 93.5% of businesses employ less than 10 people
• 72% of proprietors are female
• 86% of staff are female
• staff and proprietors are commonly aged 35-44 years
• 26% of the workforce are 24 years or under
• 20% of employees are aged over 45 years
• 10.3% of all establishments report vacancies, of which 7.9% are hard-to-fill
• 2.5% of establishments report skill shortage vacancies

Total UK employment in the industry is 26,200.  There are an estimated 8,200 businesses in the industry, contributing £1,500 million to Gross Domestic Product.

10.3% of businesses report having a vacancy, with 7.9% indicating that these vacancies are hard-to-fill.  2.5% of businesses report a skill shortage vacancy.

Industry drivers affecting future work and employment include:

• growing importance of ICT skills
• changing patterns of retailing and the need for more customer service, communication and people skills
• maintain and improve efficiency and competitiveness

The average level of floristry-specific skills and knowledge will also need to increase as florists work with a wider range of flowers and need to create more innovative and individual designs.

The highest numbers of enrolments in floristry courses are in further education, representing 90% of all provision.  71% of floristry enrolments are on part-time, 97% of learners are female, and over 80% are over 25 years of age.

Skills gaps are reported for skilled florists and unskilled workers, ranging from job-specific skills to a broad range of more general skills and abilities.  There are basic technical skills shortages within the industry are at all levels.  These include: customer service training; management and supervisory skills; time management; IT; knowledge of customer databases and accounts; and marketing skills.

Source: Sector Skills Agreement Stage 1: Key Drivers of Skill Demand 2005, Sector Skills Agreement Stage 1: Annex 2.7 2005 and Floristry Industry report 2005

For regional distribution of businesses and employees in the industry see:

Proportion of floristry businesses and workforce by region and nation, 2005