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What jobs are available in the spa industry?
Within the health and beauty industry there are many positions available, so you need to consider whether you'd prefer to be in a hands-on role, perhaps as a therapist, or whether you'd prefer to work in a management role, taking care of the sales, marketing, and operational side of the spa.
Professions in the health and beauty industry that you may find in a spa include:
Beauty therapist:
To become a beauty therapist you will need to be trained in one or more of these treatments and therapies: manicures, pedicures, facials (cleansing, exfoliating, moisturising), spray tanning, waxing and hair removal, application of make-up, body treatments such as scrubs and wraps, massage.
Someone with the title of beauty therapist will usually be trained in various areas of spa therapy, but not in more specialised techniques of massage or alternative therapy unless they have undertaken additional training.
Massage therapist:
There are many types of massage, some aimed at maintaining general wellbeing, some more targeted and specialised. While most basic courses in beauty therapy will include an introduction to massage techniques, more specialised methods such as acupressure, Swedish massage, sports or injury massage, lymphatic drainage massage, Shiatsu, or Thai massage will require you to be qualified in that therapy.
As massage involves manipulation of muscles and targeted pressure on exact points of the body, it is essential that therapists are well trained to prevent injury to a client, and to ensure that the treatment is as effective as possible.
It may be costly to spend extra time training in a specialised massage technique, but it will be worth it in the long run as massage therapists can earn a much higher salary!
Alternative medicine / complementary health / holistic therapist:
Alternative therapy is a specialised field that is not usually included in standard beauty therapy training, and is an umbrella term used for a varied range of treatments and therapies. Some therapies do not involve much physical contact, but if you wanted to train as a nutritionist, dietician, or aromatherapist, you would still have to undertake a specific training course. Both these therapies and treatments such as reflexology, acupuncture, and Reiki that involve more intense interaction with the body cannot be learnt from one short course alone. A beginner's course will introduce you to the basics, but to become a qualified practitioner you will have to undertake training that meets the National Occupational Standards (NOS).
Customer service and management:
Working in a spa is not reserved for therapists alone, and there are many roles within the management side to the business. Each spa needs a receptionist to take calls and bookings, and to welcome clients as they arrive. The spa manager is sometimes a senior therapist, but if often a person trained in business management rather than therapies and treatments.
Large hotel spas, resort spas, and even some busy day spas also employ staff to manage sales and marketing for the business, and to manage the business operations, especially when there are a number of staff to manage and organise.
See also:
* What would I earn as a spa therapist, and how long are the hours?
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