Women Leading Spirits & WSET Partner for Spirit Certification Scholarships
Driving Global Spirits Diversity: WLS and WSET Partner to Empower Women's Professional Growth
Advocacy platform Women Leading Spirits (WLS) has officially announced a partnership with global authoritative wine and spirits education body Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), aiming to expand professional qualification opportunities for women in the global spirits industry. Under this major initiative, WSET has been officially appointed as the official education partner of WLS. Both parties are committed to enhancing women's professional development space in the workplace, popularizing access to internationally recognized spirits training, and further strengthening overall industry strength and diversity and inclusion.
According to the partnership plan, WSET will leverage its Social Impact Fund to provide annual full scholarships for online courses of Level 1 and Level 2 Awards in Spirits, with the goal of funding approximately 100 outstanding students by 2030. In addition, the initiative will provide WLS members with exclusive tuition discounts for selected WSET online qualification courses, and regularly host four to six online seminars and digital masterclasses annually. Scholarship applications are expected to open officially on the WLS official website starting this September.
Breaking Workplace Barriers and Setting a New Industry Milestone
WLS Co-founder and Chair Larissa Arjona pointed out that education is one of the most effective ways to create development opportunities and accelerate women's leadership in the global spirits industry, effectively removing workplace barriers and providing practical growth tools. Rob McCaughey, Head of Commercial Growth for the Americas at WSET, and Michelle Brampton, Chief Executive, also stated that as a UK-registered independent educational charity, WSET hopes to break down industry barriers through professional training, helping women build confidence and professional skills so that learners can fully unleash their potential and take a vital step forward in their careers.
Currently, WSET has over 700 course partners in more than 80 countries and regions worldwide, delivering professional education in 15 languages. In the future, WSET will further deeply engage in WLS's various international events, industry seminars, and practical training camps. Both parties will also jointly develop educational content and emerging professional talent leadership cultivation programs, working hand in hand to promote the global beverage industry toward a new milestone of greater diversity, inclusion, and professionalism.
📅 Publish Date: 2026-08-17
🔗 Source: https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2026/08/women-leading-spirits-teams-up-with-wset/