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Careers in EstheticsThe Spa and Esthetic industry in Canada is experiencing tremendous growth. According to the ISPA 2004 Spa Industry Study it was estimated that there were approximately 2,100 individual spas in Canada. Over 40% of Canada’s spas are located in Ontario, followed by 19% of the spas located in British Columbia. The Canadian spa industry generated an estimated $1.5 billion CDN in revenues for 2003 and the average number of spa visits was 20.2 million. In 2003, the Canadian spa industry employed an estimated 33,200 people; 20,442 full time, 7,075 part-time and 5,673 contract staff. The driving force behind the tremendous growth is rising consumer demand. Primarily the aging “Baby Boomers,” the largest single generation in the history of mankind is driving this growth. The Boomers are now entering there 40s and 50s and are willing to spend whatever it takes to preserve their youthful looks and to prevent premature aging. As a result Esthetics is a profession that is growing rapidly – not just in North America but also worldwide – and skilled, reliable, well-educated Professional Estheticians are in high demand. The importance of an attractive personal appearance is recognized more than ever in the world today. A career as a Professional Esthetician is one of the few where you can enjoy a solid income and feel great about making someone else look and feel terrific! Today’s market demands a more creative, highly skilled and well-rounded Professional Esthetician who has the ability to educate and empower their clients. It has expanded and evolved into a sophisticated and well-respected profession with a variety of specializations. The excitement surrounding the future of this industry and its ever-increasing demand for qualified Professional Estheticians presents endless opportunities for well-trained individuals. Imagine working in a spa, salon, wellness center or even a cruise ship – or maybe own your own spa/salon! You may even opt to work with a dermatologist, cosmetic surgeon, or other medical professionals. As Canada’s top institute for Esthetics training, Elmcrest College prepares students to become the qualified, highly skilled, job-ready Professional Esthetician in demand by the Premier Spas in the industry today. Forecasts predict continued robust growth in the industry. What are the career opportunities for Estheticians?Consumer Trends The Possibilities – You could practice esthetics in a spa, salon, on a cruise ship, in a fitness center, in a dermatologist or plastic surgeon’s office. You could be an entrepreneur and own your own spa or salon, be a spa/salon manager, educator/trainer or coordinator, become a makeup artist, or a trainer or sales consultant of beauty products. There is constant demand in these and in many other areas for qualified aestheticians Elmcrest provides job search assistance to help students find the perfect place to start their professional career. How much does the position pay?The compensation or income for an esthetician within a spa is contingent on skills and experience. A hands-on skills evaluation will allow the supervisor, trainer or manager to determine the esthetician’s abilities. The esthetician is evaluated periodically after he/she is hired. As he/she gains product knowledge and treatment skills, the professional usually progresses to the next pay scale or percentage or both. The majority of aestheticians are remunerated on an hourly basis, earning significant commissions on the value of services they provide and their retail sales. An average income for a full-time esthetician falls somewhere between $20,000 and $50,000 per year; a top performing front-line line esthetician has the potential to earn $50,000 to $70,000k. If an esthetician becomes Head Esthetician for a large spa group, this can take her into the $75,000 to $100,000 category. There is also the career potential to use her practical training as a stepping-stone into a senior management position like Spa Director (many spa directors and owners started their careers in esthetics). Consumer TrendsFacials – Skin CareThe products and treatments of the future will continue to concentrate on anti-aging and protection but will also heavily involve increasing the immune system. Nail CareThe trend will be towards healthy nails and skin. While there will continue to be acrylics, silks, gels, and various sculptured nail add-ons, most spas will concentrate more on developing treatments for health nails and hands and feet. Hair RemovalWaxing will continue to be a common part of the spa service. While technology of laser hair removal continues to advance, waxing for the average consumer will still remain the predominant form of hair removal. Body CareAs stress levels and fast paced lifestyles still continue to increase, there will be a natural need for effects orients distressing body treatments along with detoxification and cellulite treatments. Career Opportunities in the Spa IndustryAs we head into the future, the Spa Industry has expanded and evolved into a sophisticated and well-respected profession with a variety of specializations. Here are just a few of your career options:
Career Placement ServicesElmcrest College has an excellent placement record for its graduates. Although no school or college can guarantee a job for its graduates nor compensations earned in a job, at Elmcrest we do our best to provide lifetime placement assistance to our graduates. Elmcrest maintains a Job Placement Bulletin Board, Job Binder and on-line Job Posting of prospective jobs available from Spas and Salon both locally and across Canada. To get you started in your first career position upon graduation, we will assist you with:
Personality Profile of the Spa IndustryVirtual Spa SurveyVirtual Spa recently conducted a survey to determine what personality characteristics predicted high performers in three spa personnel categories: Esthetician, Massage Therapist and Sspa Director. The candidates participating in the survey were derived from three types of Spas including Day Spas, Destination Spas and Fitness Spas. Two types of data were collected. All respondents, i.e. representing the three above categories, were given a standard questionnaire which provided scores for sixteen personality traits. Each of the respondents was rated by their immediate supervisor based on actual performance. Respondents were divided into two groups, high performers and average performers. The following is a list of a few of the crucial personality traits and how they apply to the spa industry. The results were scored on a high – low scale. WarmthHigh Score: Warm, Outgoing, Attentive to Others Interpersonal warmth was rated by participants as one of the most consistently important traits for effective job performance in all three categories. High scores would tend to be warm-hearted individuals who are generous and flexible in their interpersonal relationships. They tend to be team players and have a high degree of empathy with others. The study shows that low scores in this area, the cool and reserved individuals tend to be much less successful in a spa environment. These individuals expressed being less comfortable talking about or showing feelings of affection for others. They are likely to shy away from extensive interpersonal contact and prefer to work alone. Emotional StabilityHigh Score: Emotionally Stable, Adaptive, Mature Emotionally sensitive people tend to rely on empathy and intuitive awareness whereas low scores are very practical and utilitarian, not taking peoples vulnerabilities into consideration. The study shows this quality as the single most important trait for successful massage therapists. Like on the warmth scale, its important for the spa director to complement the common personality traits found in caregivers. Because caregivers tend to be highly intuitive individuals they are very emotionally sensitive – and they are easily upset. The survey revealed that a majority of Spa Directors had high scores here. This way they can provide their caregivers with steady support an otherwise busy, chaotic environment with an atmosphere of serenity and calm. If the spa director doesn’t get ruffled, then the chances that the staff won’t either is greater so that guests can experience a serene and peaceful environment. DominanceHigh Score: Dominant, Forceful, Assertive One trait which clearly distinguished successful massage therapists and aestheticians from spa directors was dominance. Dominance refers to confidently assertive individuals who enjoy group activities and leadership roles. Lower scores describe people who are more deferential and cooperative and are conflict avoidance. More dominant individuals want to exert influence over others. Successful spa directors are relatively high on this trait, whereas effective technical staff tends to score average to low average, especially massage therapists. LivelinessHigh Score: Lively, Fun Loving, Spontaneous Often times, sales people are high scorers here while people with low scores have a high toleration for monotonous work and dislike change. Spa directors scored moderately high on this trait in order to motivate people and keep the spa perking along. A spa director who is a low scorer in this area and a low scorer on the emotional stability scale would be too dour to empathize and relate to the care givers. Rule-ConsciousnessHigh Score: Rule-oriented, Dutiful This trait was clearly predictive of success in both the massage therapist, aesthetician, and spa director. High scores tend to follow rules and principles. They are conscientious, persevering individuals who take on responsibility driven by a sense of duty and adherence to exacting standards. Lower scores will tend to be expedient and may be nonconforming and lack self control. Some of the data suggests that this trait is not given enough focus during selection. Social BoldnessHigh Score: Socially Bold, Thick-skinned, Talkative Making outrageous comments is a common way a high social boldness score manifests itself in social situations. While Richard Simmons has built his reputation on saying outrageous things in most work settings, boldness is frowned upon. Yes, thick skin is needed because there’s a lot of emotional wear and tear that comes with the job of being a spa director, but an overly bold day spa director making blunt comments to guests may not help the guest replenish their emotional reserves. In situations where a spa director has frequent contact with the public and guests, a moderate score revealed a more successful spa director. Emotional SensitivityHigh Score: Intuitive, Feelings-oriented Once again, spa directors and caregivers are typically at opposite ends of this trait’s spectrum. The best therapists tend to be the most sensitive, but they can also be the most troublesome to manage. But what happens when you are a low scorer working for a high scorer? Or, when you find yourself working for another high scorer like yourself, or considering a job offer from a spa owner who appears to be a high scorer? VigilanceHigh Score: Skeptical, Wary, Suspicious Another distinguishing trait was vigilance. Higher scores tend to not take others people’s motives at face value and understand that people can be taken advantage of. Lower scores expect fair treatment and good intentions from others and are generally trusting and forgiving. Successful spa directors tended toward somewhat higher scores. Effective massage therapists and aestheticians tended to score quite low on this trait. AbstractednessHigh Score: Imaginative, Focused on Big Picture Many times scientists and conceptual thinkers have a high score here. Low scorers tend to be frustrated by working in groups for long periods of time. In a day spa setting where the spa director reports directly to the owner, or is the owner, and has many direct reports, as well as responsibilities in sales and marketing and finance, a high score was revealed as desirable since complex decisions are made on an on-going basis. ApprehensionHigh Score: Worried, Insecure, Apprehensive To a large extent, this personality trait measures self-esteem. Within any spa setting, it is desirable that the Spa Directors have a healthy amount of self-esteem. Fortunately, low self-esteem can be moderated if an individual puts their mind to it. Leverage Our Strengths, Minimize Our WeaknessesThese brief summary of how these personality traits manifest themselves in the workplace and in a spa setting in particular, provides you with a solid foundation for understanding how people function in the workplace. The challenge of a manager is to take that information and use it in a constructive way to make the work environment productive and harmonious – not to try to turn everybody’s personality profile score into straight 5s! This is especially true for Spa Directors who are not only managing sensitive, caring employees, but who are also dealing with guests who are patronizing the spa to rejuvenate not only their bodies, but their own emotionally depleted, spiritually exhausted souls as well. The Spa Director must be keenly aware of others’ emotions and personalities in order to be “truly present” for guests and employees so that the spa can be financially successful. How can you leverage your own strengths and weaknesses--as well as those of your employees and superiors--to be a really successful Spa Director? Source; Caren Thornburgh, Virtual Spa, Inc. ISPA Spa Technician Profile and Survey ResultsSpa Technician ProfileParticipants were asked to rate how important they felt each of the following areas of knowledge and skills were to becoming a successful Spa Technician. A five-point scale was used, where “1” was “not at all important” and “5” was “extremely important.” It is important to note that the majority of respondents rated most of the questions above 4.0. The following results are ranked in order of their importance from those surveyed. Personal Traits
Interaction with Spa & Other Staff
Client Interaction
Professional Training
Education
What is your main passion in this business?
What do you like most about your job?
What do you like least about your job?
Additional comments
Source: October 2001: ISPA Conference, Palm Springs CA
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