To qualify as a beauty therapist, it takes many years studying to achieve NVQ certificates. These are a vital part of your career which will allow you to gain knowledge and experience that’s required for you to begin your career as a therapist working in a salon, or a spa.
At the beginning of your career, you have a choice of areas which you can study. For example, you may have opted to specialise in waxing or hair treatment. It is common for you to encounter a time where you begin to feel like you’d like to learn more and to expand on your position as a beauty therapist.
Once you’ve qualified, it doesn’t always mean you cannot continue to study. There are endless opportunities for you to go further up the career ladder and into a number of different routes. If you’re wondering what they next steps are, and how you should go about them, read our guide to help you on your way to achieving a successful and meaningful career within the beauty industry.
What’s the next course that I need to study?
Once you’ve achieved your NVQ level 2 and 3 in beauty therapy, you can go on to gain your Level 4 Diploma in Spa and Salon management. The course is the next progression step that will allow you to gain practical and theoretical skills that are needed to manage the spa or salon in which you work in.
It’s great for those who are looking to work their way into a more senior position. You’ll be studying areas which include management of client care, sales management and publication relations within the hair and beauty sector. There’s a number of units which you can continue to study further if you wish including research, marketing, human resource managements, IT and data handling.
What happens on the course?
In order for you to gain valuable experience, you’ll be working in a realistic environment which is often within a salon. Throughout your studies, you will be monitored through a number of assessments and question papers for each module. By the end of the course, you’ll have built up a portfolio compact with information that can stay with you throughout your career.
Where job can this lead to?
Once you’ve qualified from this course, it can lead you into a range of exciting jobs including management roles in salons, spas, hairdressers and even working on luxury cruise liners! There’s still room to progress even further by completing university degrees in beauty.
Tell me more about studying a degree…
If you’re passionate about achieving the most of your beauty career, or perhaps you’re looking to open your own salon, it may be beneficial for you to study a degree at university. Across the UK, there’s a selection of universities which cater for these beauty courses which can be studied on both a full time or part time basis (depending on the university). There’s a Foundation Degree in business management and also a BA hons degree in Salon management that can be studied. While studying these, the courses allow you to gain practical skills and knowledge which will be required once for senior or management roles.
If you do study a degree, it can lead you into some of the most exciting jobs in the industry. Today, the hair and beauty profession is changing and has become increasing popular with people taking to them to enhance their beauty. It’s the perfect time for smaller business to grow as a company. As a result of this, there’s a need for those who’ve studied higher education and training to take to salons to fulfil roles of salon managers. Skills and knowledge gained through a degree with be extremely valuable to salon- big or small.
I’ve got a passion to teach beauty – any advice?
If you’ve always fancied a career in teaching budding beauty students the tricks of the trade, but haven’t been sure on how to break into this, we’ve got the information that you’ll need to help guide you into the job of your dreams.
To train to teach beauty, you’ll have to study the ‘Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector’ (PTLLS 6302). This will allow all students to understand the skills and knowledge that’s required to enter the world of teaching. You’ll need experience as working as a beauty therapist, a passion for teaching and also a good understanding of literacy.
I don’t think further education is for me. What else can I study?
If studying for a degree isn’t for you, don’t panic. There are still a number of ways in which you can further your career. There’s courses than can be taken in local colleges and beauty schools which will train you up on UV tanning, laser treatments, face and body art and also epilation techniques.
If you are working within a salon, there will always be a need for training to use new products that are used. They often come with a training programme before it’s used which will allow you to advance with new stock.
No matter which course you do decide on studying, there’s so many exciting opportunities which a career in beauty will take you on which will be successful and rewarding.
In next week’s post, we are looking at where a career as a beauty therapist can take you- make sure you check back then. Remember to leave a comment sharing with us what type of qualifications you’d like to continue to study!
Visit our Facebook and Twitter page for our #BeautyStudentTalk hashtag for more useful tips for all you budding beauty therapists.
