CIFD International Expansion Announced

Canadian Floral Design School in the Middle East   Dubai Photos here

The Canadian Institute of Floral Design (CIFD) headquartered in Toronto is currently finalizing plans in preparation of taking their Professional Floral Design and Advanced Floral Design Programs to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  This new undertaking has provided CIFD with an opportunity to develop the core educational and design program to fit the needs of students and business owners around the world.

The request to CIFD came as a result of one of the largest florist chains in Dubai UAE encountering difficulty in recruiting suitable, well trained and educated floral design staff. Although currently with a staff of seventy floral employees, their business requires a high calibre of design capabilities to serve their clients in the five and seven star hotel district in Dubai.

 “Our organization has specialized in professional floral education in Canada for over twenty years, successfully providing training to some of the largest floral retailers and wholesalers. We are committed to providing the industry with skilled floral design staff and feel this expansion to teach internationally is consistent with our mission statement”, says Donald Waltho, founder and Managing Director of CIFD.

Monica Schut, Director of Education at CIFD feels “it is a wonderful opportunity to have a Canadian educational facility invited to the other side of the world to share the joy of working with floral materials considering the unfortunate number of conflicts in the region. Our industry communicates through floral products and materials and know this exchange will be very worthwhile for all involved’.

In preparation for this new educational development CIFD has invited two new design instructors to the faculty. Nemo Nauta is a Floral Art Dutch master from the Netherlands. His floral career spans over thirty years in the industry, winning many design awards. Although his home base is Toronto, he is in demand for both his design abilities and consultation across Asia, Europe, South America and Australia.

In addition to the new staff, instructor Monica Schut continues to deliver the Introductory Level of Professional Floral Business Management program and the Business of Weddings workshop. Monica enjoys a successful retail history and floral design career, having built five retail locations across the Greater Toronto Area. The practical approach to profitability through building a solid business plan is very beneficial to students considering a floral retail management position or preparing to have their own retail store.

Don Waltho and Nemo Nuata will also be touring the Hortifair in Amsterdam with a group of student-florists from Dubai at the conclusion of the training period.  The theme for this year’s International Hortifair is a focus on water and energy. The exhibition is being held from Tuesday October 9^th through to Friday October 12^th in Amsterdam RAI. The Horti Fair attracted 50,000 professionals in recent years from all over the world.

CIFD is one of the only Professional Floral Design Schools having Ontario Government Approval. Like all Trades & Professional Training, it is the responsibility of government to verify and regulate the training process for anyone seeking a professional trade. Tuitions are fully Tax deductible.

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