30 Fully Funded WSET Level 1 Award in Beer Places for 2027 Women's Brew Day Participants
WSET, the global leader in drinks education, will once again be Education Partner for the 2027 International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (IWCBD) campaign, donating 30 funded places on its Level 1 Award in Beer, with a total value of £6,300, to participants.
The initiative forms part of WSET's wider social impact programme, which works with partners around the world to improve access to drinks education and help remove barriers to career development.
The WSET Level 1 Award in Beer is a globally recognised qualification for anyone interested in learning the basics about lagers, ales, sours and more. Through a short and interactive course, students learn the foundations of beer production, styles, service, food pairing and tasting.
As IWCBD Education Partner, WSET will create a custom online course for the Level 1 Award in Beer, exclusively for 30 global IWCBD participants across all regions (EMEA, Americas, and APAC). Scheduled to run in Spring 2027, the course includes guidance from an expert educator alongside networking opportunities, and participants will gain a globally recognised qualification once they’ve successfully passed their exam.
The award has a minimum requirement of six hours of guided learning with a WSET course provider, including a 45-minute exam. All participants in any brew days signed up to the main IWCBD 2027 campaign are eligible to register for a chance to be offered one of the places, and 30 names will be drawn at random.
The partnership reflects WSET’s ongoing commitment to expanding access to drinks education. Professional development opportunities and recognised qualifications can play an important role in supporting more women to build careers in beer, including brewing and leadership roles.
Since August 2023, WSET has supported more than 1,000 individuals across 14 countries through social impact projects delivered with 33 partner organisations. Further information about WSET's impact projects is available on the WSET website.
Natalya Watson, WSET Beer Educator & Business Development Manager – Beer, said: “As a long time participant and supporter of International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day, I’m thrilled that WSET is returning as Education Partner and giving 30 participants the opportunity to extend their learning beyond the day. Taking part in this initiative will enable them to improve their product knowledge and tasting skills, gain a globally recognised qualification, and grow their network of industry colleagues.”
Rachel Auty, Founder of Women On Tap CIC, said: “I’m delighted to welcome WSET as our Education Partner for the campaign once again. There’s still a lack of opportunity and support for women looking to gain qualifications in beer. These qualifications offer vital professional development, and it’s fitting that IWCBD can help to fast track women’s beer careers in this way.”
How it works:
All official IWCBD projects should aim to collect contact email addresses and permissions from everyone participating in their brew day.
The IWCBD team will send project leads an online form in March 2027, to be sent on to their participants, including the hosts.
Each individual participant can choose whether or not they would like to sign up for the chance of being offered one of 30 places on the WSET Level 1 Award in Beer.
Please note, all sign-up data will be shared with the WSET team, who will select people at random to be offered places. Data will not be used for any other purpose.
The 30 WSET Level 1 Award qualification places are fully funded by WSET and so will be offered completely FREE OF CHARGE.
The qualifications are open only to IWCBD 2027 participants.
For more details on IWCBD visit www.iwcbd.org
About WSET
WSET is the global leader in drinks education, setting the international standard for qualifications in wine, spirits, sake and beer. Since 1969, WSET has awarded qualifications to over 1.5 million candidates worldwide. Our four progressive levels of study – from beginner to expert-level Diploma – are open to both industry professionals and enthusiasts. In 2024/25, over 120,000 candidates studied for a WSET qualification, with courses available in more than 80 countries and 15 languages. Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn