A rising number of male and mature age students are enrolling in beauty courses at TAFE institutions across Australia.
Beauty Therapy Teacher and Professional Learning Committee Chair for TAFE Queensland, Lacie Green has witnessed the trends first-hand.
With eight years of teaching under her belt, Lacie has only recently seen a “big increase” in mature age enrollments, including “a lot of nurses coming over for an industry change, which is great.”
Short courses in Nail Technology, Infection Prevention and Botanical Product Development in particular, are proving popular amongst mature age students. ”Our short courses are designed to re-engage industry members or those considering a career change which tends to be our mature age demographic,” Lacie says.
“Generally a lot of students with older children looking for more of a work-life balance, or previous graduates looking to move away from the labor-intensive treatments like waxing and massage, will fall under the Diploma.”
A trending increase in male enrollments at Diploma level is also providing “a wonderful element to our classroom environment!” Lacie says.
“When I first started teaching it was uncommon to have a male in the classroom, and over the last two years in particular we meet a new male student each intake, which is great to see!”
“I think as a whole we are seeing more and more males in roles that were typically more female-lead in the past. The likes of Kai Atkinson, Michael Huxley and Matt Williams are inspiring the next generation of males to consider the beauty industry as an option.”
“The likes of Kai Atkinson, Michael Huxley and Matt Williams are inspiring the next generation of males to consider the beauty industry as an option.”
Lacie reveals that male students are bringing with them a new set of skills and are often skilled in specialties requiring an attention-to-detail, such as makeup application, nail art, waxing and facials.
“Males can occasionally struggle with [attracting] willing clients for bikini waxing and sometimes spray tans, but generally they excel in most services and add a wonderful dynamic to the classroom.”
“We are lucky our campus salons attract a lot of easy-going clients happy to help our students with whatever they need to succeed. At my campus in particular, we have a lovely client that has been coming to the campus for more than 25 years,” Lacie says. “I remember working on her as a student and now as the teacher, she is our go-to client on call when our students are stuck for models.”
Lacie admitted that a new training package is also in the works, “keeping us on our toes at the moment!”
For more information on beauty courses offered through TAFE Queensland, visit their website.
Read the current issue of our digital magazine here:
- For more news and updates, subscribe to our weekly newsletter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Like us on Facebook
- Join Australia’s largest network of beauty industry professionals on LinkedIn
- Subscribe to our print magazine
Have an idea for a story or want to see a topic covered on our site and in our pages? Get in touch at info@professionalbeauty.com.au.