A UK study has revealed beauty therapy is one of the top three career choices favoured by young British women.
The beauty industry may still be struggling to gain the noteworthy title it deserves here in Oz, but in Britain, it’s now one of the most popular career choices for school graduates.
A study by the British Association of Beauty Therapists and Cosmetology asked young women to identify their top career ‘wish list’ professions, and of those, beauty therapy fell in the top three.
Thirty-six per cent of participants chose hairdressing, while thirty-one per cent specified the fashion industry, and twenty-nine per cent said they aspired to become beauty therapists.
The survey of 2,114 British women between 18-25 years old was carried out in order to understand more about young women in the UK and the role of the beauty industry.
twenty-nine per cent said they aspired to become beauty therapists
Babtac general manager, Colin Webster said the results were a positive sign for the beauty industry.
“It’s very positive to see the beauty industry come so high in the career aspirations of young women.”
When asked if they were currently working in their chosen industry, seventy-nine per cent of the participants stated they were not. However, more than half believed they would work in their chosen industry in the future.
Other findings revealed that having family members in the industry had the biggest influence on women’s future aspirations with thirty-four per cent having a relative involved in beauty therapy or a beauty related career, followed by the media’s portrayal of the role, which sixteen per cent admitted had an impact on their overall decision.
Which may be slightly concerning for some therapists, when you consider images like this are often what the media illustrates as being representative of the industry.
“There are an awful lot that careers in the industry can offer people, although some aspiring beauty therapists may be disappointed to find that there’s a lot more to the job than the stereotypes in the media,” says Webster.
There is currently no up-to-date data on the popularity of beauty as a career choice for women in Australia, however with beauty school drop-out rates at an all-time low and a rise in public interest in affordable non-invasive alternatives to plastic surgery, the profession is certainly not going to be falling out of favour any time soon.
Have your say: What do you think of the media’s portrayal of women who work in the beauty industry?