Beauty as a career option

Today, awareness of beauty products and treatments, fashion and grooming is at an all-time high. This is attributed to exposure to global trends and lifestyle changes, higher disposable incomes and the trend towards fitness and youth. Both women and men know that looking one’s best imparts self-confidence, very necessary in today’s competitive career world. Moreover, there are many jobs in which the appearance counts, like public and media relations, front office jobs, hospitality industry, tourism, marketing and sales, television, web series, modelling and so on.

With a competitive work environment and growing awareness of beauty and grooming, the demand for beauty treatments has also increased. There is a corresponding need for trained personnel in beauty. Therefore, the booming beauty business offers lucrative career opportunities. Those days have gone when you visited your local beautician, who performed all the salon services herself, from haircuts, manicure, pedicure, threading and even facials. Clients now go to the experts in the field for different beauty needs, from hairstyling, hair colouring, hair removal, to specialized treatments and facials. Make-up artists have also specialised in various fields.

Considering the demand for trained staff in the beauty industry, one of the biggest challenges is the lack of professionally and qualified trained personnel

With the demand for such services on the rise, the beauty industry is growing by the day and with it the need for skilled professionals. Considering the demand for trained staff in the beauty industry, one of the biggest challenges is the lack of professionally and qualified trained personnel in the industry. This includes the beauty products and the beauty services industries. Career prospects in the beauty business have never been brighter and vocational training is the need of the hour. A minimum school leaving certificate is enough to launch into vocational beauty training, yet it gives the opportunity to complete courses right up to an advanced level and also go into related fields.

One can even be an entrepreneur and start one’s own beauty salon. In fact, the investment in setting up a small salon may not be so high, so trained beauty therapists dream of owning their own salon. In fact, apart from Theoretical knowledge and Practical skills, Beauty Diploma and Advanced Courses include Business Management, Salon Management, Client Handling and so on. According to an expert, “For successfully running a beauty and wellness business, the salon owner should know which business verticals to concentrate on to generate more revenue.” One can also take a franchise of a reputed beauty salon brand and become a link in a chain of branded salons.

Of course, training in beauty also means one can gain employment as Beauty Therapists, Masseurs, Hairstylists, Make-up Artists, Manicurist / Pedicurist, Electrolysis and Laser Therapists, Aromatherapists and so on. One can also occupy positions such as Salon / Spa Managers, Beauty Advisers, Cosmetic Consultants, Product Consultants, Freelance beauticians or make-up artists, or even as Yoga Teachers or Beauty School Teacher. The training certainly opens up an entire vista of opportunities. A skilled make-up artist has widened job scopes in many industries.

The trends and techniques in the beauty field keep changing, offering more scope for specialisation and employment

The fashion industry, or shooting of web series are areas where those equipped with right make-up skills would get employed. It is the makeup artists who are assigned the task of preparing models for photo shoots, advertisement, runway shows etc. The fact remains that there are many areas in which one can specialize. The trends and techniques in the beauty field keep changing, offering more scope for specialisation and employment. For instance, today one can become a skin or hair care consultant, offering external cosmetic care of skin and hair problems.

I definitely feel that education and a professional qualification give a great deal of confidence. We need to give importance to professional qualifications and vocational training, so that women can express their training and creativity with more confidence.