The
WSET Educator of the Year award is given to the
organisation which has made a significant contribution to WSET courses and
qualifications in the past year, whilst achieving superlative results in WSET
programmes and demonstrating innovation in education. During the past year, the
IWEC has (amongst other things) expanded operations into Johannesburg, has facilitated
and supported the launch of WSET’s flagship qualification, the Level 4 (which
is the main requirement for studying Master of Wine), in South Africa as well
as been heavily-involved in the PIWOSA Women in Wine initiative aimed at
providing quality education and qualifications for previously-disadvantaged
women working in the wine and hospitality industries.
She's a tireless campaigner for WSET and to be presented with this prestigious award just confirms what a strong presence she has in wine education.
If you're thinking of doing a wine course, then we highly recommend WSET...
10 reasons why a WSET course is the best wine course you can do:
1. Trusted brand – WSET has been offering wine courses for over 40 years and has consistently been the market-leader in wine education during that time.
2. Internationally-recognised – anyone wanting to work in wine or hospitality outside SA or who deals with any wine or hospitality business outside SA will find common ground with employers and customers alike through WSET. In addition, successful Level 3 candidates may use the WSET Approved logo on all correspondence.
3. Up to date – all current material was revised August 2011 to include new legislation worldwide and updates are supplied on an ongoing basis.
4. Comprehensive – the student materials comprise everything you need to pass the exam and use as a reference guide in the future. No need to purchase other expensive wine books.
5. Teaching methods – WSET provides detailed lesson plans and educator accessories such as Powerpoint presentations, slides, tests etc to ensure that students get the most out of the lectures and don’t waste their time.
6. Qualified teachers – all WSET lecturers have either passed the WSET Diploma or are Masters of Wine, or are qualified and experienced winemakers.
7. International wines – the wine courses are primarily focussed on wines around the world with the vast majority of samples coming from outside South Africa – 80 wines will be tasted on Level 3 & over 40 on Level 2.
8. Suitable for industry professionals and enthusiastic amateurs alike – although WSET courses were devised for wine-folk, any wine-lover will gain a huge amount of knowledge and enjoyment from completing one of these courses.
9. Rigorous – all exams are set and marked in London, UK. This means that your qualification is unbiased, impartial and on a par with others around the world. At present Cathy is the only WSET Approved Programme Provider in Africa.
10. Looking ahead – if you are interested in furthering your wine studies, ultimately ending up as a Master of Wine, then WSET is the direct route for all further studies.