Jobs in the modern beauty care industry demand a high level of technical expertise and professional skill. Gaining these skills requires practical experience and training, but it also calls for a level of theoretical study that cannot be fully gained through on-the-job training.

Cavan College of Further Studies has developed a two-year beauty therapy course which combines a foundation in practical learning and work experience with a strong emphasis on understanding the scientific and technical theory of beauty care.

"There's a large theoretical aspect to the course. It's not just practical, and those interested in beauty therapy should realise that applying make-up is just a small part of the course," course tutor Lorraine Audley says.

Beauty therapy is about making the most of what people have, she says and that means taking a holistic approach to client care.

"As well as being able to perform treatments, beauticians must be able to advise on diet and nutrition and lifestyle. They need to have the knowledge to prescribe treatments and recommend products in order that their clients can get the best benefit from them."

Not only do students need to learn how various therapies work, they need to understand the effects they have on the body, Audley says. "Students learn the anatomy and physiology of every system in the body - its quite a hard part of the course."

Although all students do work experience and go on release to a salon one day a week, they need to learn the academic theory - the science part - in a classroom setting. "Beauty therapy is not an apprenticeship - there's a lot of it that you can't just be trained in. You have to attend class," she says

Students must also sit theory and practical exams in each subject and must achieve 60 per cent to pass. "They must be experts in the field, not just scraping by."

The course subjects can be divided into three parts; facial, body and electrolysis, though there are some overlapping areas such as hygiene, customer care and skin diseases.

In the facial section, which also includes hands, feet and hair, the students learn skin analysis, make-up, cleansing, ear piercing, electrical and non-electrical treatments, hot wax, cold wax and sugaring. They also keep abreast of newer techniques such as eyelash perming. "The course is very adaptable to changes in the industry," Audley says.

Body treatments include full body Swedish massage and mechanical message. The most up-to-date equipment is used for the teaching of faradic and galvanic treatments and vacuum suction. Three different types of electrolysis are taught and there is also a new course in Indian head massage.

Applicants to the course must have passed five Leaving Cert subjects including English and a science subject, preferably biology, but social and scientific is also useful. Successful graduates of the course are awarded CIDESCO, ITEC and CIBTAC internationally recognised qualifications. The course is suited to people who are empathetic who are an interest in customer care. "Customer service is what beauty therapy is all about. You must have a pleasant manner and a caring disposition," Audley says.

Cavan College has a long-established association with hair and beauty courses, as John Cox, head of the college, explains. "In 1976 Cavan Vocational School was approached by the Irish Hairdressers Federation and asked to start running junior and senior trades certificates in hairdressing in the school because there was a need for formal training. In the mid-1980s we added the element of beauty and the demand for the course has become greater and greater ever since."