BEAUTY THERAPY is an expanding area which offers plenty of job opportunities. One illustration of the rapid growth in the profession is the increase in membership of the professional body, the Society of Applied Cosmetology from ten members in 1976 to nearly 900 today. The downside for young people starting out is the relatively low salaries they can expect for the first few years.
The somewhat old-fashioned name of beautician has largely been replaced by the term, beauty therapist. However, the two terms are not, in fact, interchangeable. The course tutor in Crumlin College of Business and Technical Studies, Dublin, explains that beauticians are primarily concerned with the face cleansing, toning, facial equipment and so on while beauty therapists deal with the body as well as the face. So, beauty therapy courses may include body massage, aromatherapy and fitness machines.
Second level students interested in beauty therapy can choose courses offered by private colleges and by Post Leaving Certificate colleges. There are no fees in PLC colleges but students must pay for examinations and registration with professional bodies.
The private colleges may charge fees up to and in excess of £3,000 although the courses are often run over a shorter time period. For instance, most PLC colleges offer the sought-after CIDESCO qualification as part of a two-year course whereas private colleges usually offer it in one year. Some PLC courses combine beauty therapy with other related areas such as fitness, health care and hairdressing.
PLC colleges usually require Leaving Certificate standard and all applicants are generally interviewed. While biology is not a specific requirement, it can be an asset as courses include anatomy and physiology.
Deirdre Carberry, of Cork College of Commerce, which took in 44 students in two classes this year, explains that course tutors are looking for knowledge of what beauty therapy is about. "I would argue that anyone thinking of doing the course must be able to get on with people" she says. "It's a service industry. If there is one thing that I'm looking for it is good communication skills."
Students in Cork College of Commerce sit all their face exams in first year and their body exams in second year. The college prepares students for all the major qualifications: CIBTAC, ITEC and CIDESCO. As to the jobs scene, Carberry says she gets more requests than she has graduates. She cautions about the low starting salaries.
Graduates typically get jobs on cruise liners (not as glamorous as it sounds with beauty therapists often putting in a 12-hour day) in consultancy with skincare companies teaching in pharmacies and in the fitness and leisure industry.
Bronwyn Conroy, founder member of the Society of Applied Cosmetology, mentions an increasing number of British employers looking for Irish beauty therapy graduates. Miriam Hogan, course co-ordinator of the beauty care, health and fitness course in the Central Technical Institute, Waterford, says that the college has 15 to 20 places each year and 100 per cent of graduates usually find employment. In first year, the course combines beauty therapy with hairdressing. Hogan attributes the excellent employment rate among graduates to the high practical content of the two-year course.
All of the colleges say that beauty therapy attracts a high number of mature students. It is still a female-dominated profession with none of the colleges contacted having any male applicants or male students at present. Whatever about male beauty therapists, the course tutor in Crumlin College of Business and Technical Studies, says that the male client base is increasing. With increasing awareness of the benefits of beauty therapy among men, the number of male beauty therapists may increase.
Crumlin's course tutor notes that many students use the beauty therapy course as a general starting point and they may specialise in areas such as sports therapy, aroma therapy, and red vein treatment. The course in Crumlin includes one day a week spent in a salon, gaining practical work experience.
