100 Scholarships Target for Women Professionals from Women Leading Spirits and WSET

A new international program aimed at increasing access to professional education in the beverage industry is being launched. Women Leading Spirits (WLS) and the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) have formed an educational partnership to expand access to certified beverage training for women professionals. One of the program's goals is to provide approximately 100 WSET scholarships by 2030.

The agreement, reported by The Spirits Business on August 17, 2026, consists of more than just scholarship support. WSET will become the official educational partner of Women Leading Spirits; the partnership is expected to create a broader professional development model encompassing education, digital content, events, and future leadership programs.

Initial Focus on Level 1 and Level 2 Spirits Training

Under the program, scholarships will be awarded each year for Level 1 Award in Spirits and Level 2 Award in Spirits through WSET's Social Impact Fund mechanism. The goal is to reach approximately 100 scholarship recipients by 2030. Applications are planned to open for Women Leading Spirits members starting in September 2026.

WSET's current training structure includes Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 qualifications in the Spirits category. The institution also offers training in wine, sake, and beer. WSET specifically states in its announcements that these qualifications do not guarantee employment or career advancement; therefore, the value of the certifications should be assessed within the framework of structured industry knowledge and professional development rather than direct job guarantees.

Discounts and Masterclass Model Alongside Scholarships

The scope of the partnership extends beyond scholarships.

Women Leading Spirits members will benefit from preferential pricing on certain WSET online trainings; four to six webinars and digital masterclasses will be organized annually; WSET is expected to participate in WLS conferences, events, and training programs. The parties will also consider developing future leadership programs for professionals in the early stages of their careers.

This structure could enable educational support to evolve from one-time certification funding into a continuous professional development model.

Access to professional networks and visibility within the industry can also be effective for career development, particularly for bartenders, brand ambassadors, sales professionals, distributor employees, and beverage category managers, alongside technical product knowledge.

WSET's Scholarship Model is Not New

The collaboration with Women Leading Spirits is not WSET's first program aimed at inclusive education.

WSET is already running scholarship programs with various organizations. Under a global collaboration with the Women of the Vine & Spirits Foundation, scholarships are available to help women advance their careers in food, wine, spirits, hospitality, and viticulture. The institution also supports other scholarship models for disadvantaged groups and students facing financial barriers in the UK.

In the Women in Wine program launched in India in 2024, women received WSET Level 2 training and mentoring. According to WSET's announcement, 15 women who participated completed the Level 2 training, and five successful participants progressed to Level 3.

These examples highlight the importance of designing educational, mentoring, and professional networking components together for the scholarship program to be more effective than merely covering course fees.

Why is Education a Career Issue in the Beverage Industry?

Professional roles in the beverage industry increasingly require product knowledge. For a bartender, production techniques and category knowledge; for a brand ambassador, product presentation and training skills; for sales personnel, category, production, and service knowledge are part of customer relations.

However, access to paid international certifications is not equal for all employees.

Therefore, the value of scholarship models in the industry should not be measured solely by the number of certificates awarded. The demographics of program participants, completion rates, the number of participants advancing to higher levels, and changes in professional responsibilities after training should also be monitored.

Women Leading Spirits defines itself as a global community working for the education, inclusivity, and professional advancement of women in the beverage industry. The organization has representatives in Europe, North America, South America, Africa-Asia, the Caribbean, and Oceania.

What Does This Mean for Turkey?

The details regarding the conditions under which the program's application scope will include participants from Turkey are not clearly explained in the initial announcements. Therefore, it is not possible to definitively say that employees from Turkey can directly apply for scholarships at this time.

On the other hand, WSET offers Turkish language training options. The institution's current system includes Turkish Level 1 and Level 2 Wines and Level 1 Spirits training pages.

The increase of such international scholarship programs for professionals working in the bar and beverage industry in Turkey could create an important development channel, especially for young employees with limited training budgets.

Stafflink's View

The value of certification programs for employees is not solely dependent on adding a new line to their CV.

In our view, a stronger model for businesses is when the training received by employees is connected to their job description and career plan. When a bartender who receives spirits training is given responsibilities such as product training, developing new menus, or sharing knowledge within the team, the return on investment for the business can become more visible.

Moreover, the real impact of scholarship programs should be measured not by the number of applications but by whether they reach professionals who cannot access training and whether these individuals progress in the industry.

The key indicator that the partnership between Women Leading Spirits and WSET should monitor until 2030 will be this: beyond how many individuals the 100 scholarship target reaches, what changes this education brings to their career paths.