HITO forums to hear from the Beauty Industry
Over the month of May and into the start of June, HITO undertook a series of forums around the country to meet with employer, trainers and managers from the beauty sector. These forums were held from Auckland to Invercargill and while it would have been great to have more attendees, it was fantastic to meet as many people as we did.
Thank you to those who took time out in your busy days to meet with HITO and share your thoughts on the current situation in the beauty sector. Your thoughts and honesty about where you see the industry growing, have been greatly appreciated.
With your industry experiencing so much growth over the last 10 years, it is important that you have the necessary qualification and training to sustain the industry in the long term. The results of the Forum are below for you to download.
The responses during the forums have been varied in some areas but it has been surprising and interesting to see the common threads weaving through the discussions. What is evident is the need to review the current qualifications to ensure that these are relevant and meet the needs of industry while providing a sound benchmark for professionalism in the beauty sector.
Another area of concern that has been raised is the lack of specific health regulations across the beauty sector. While not under HITO’s scope; it is evident that there is a place for the industry to work together to protect and set some standards to ensure the safety of therapists and clients.
As qualification development is the responsibility of an ITO, HITO is now responsible for the review of the beauty industry qualifications. To commence this process HITO will be utilising the information gathered from the forums and will continue to seek your feedback on what is working and what needs to change. HITO will be forming a beauty advisory committee to ensure that your needs are being heard and met.
In the interim, NZQA has made minor amendments to the qualifications. These now outline that HITO is the standard setting body for beauty in New Zealand.
You will note on the HITO website that there is an area for beauty. Please let us know what you would like to see there by emailing enquiries@hito.org.nz.
Other developments awaiting the service sectors of New Zealand (which includes the beauty sector) is the launch of the Essential Skills training programmes. This is being developed to meet the needs of New Zealand as we prepare for the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and to look at raising the focus on service to the tourist in New Zealand. As a potential tourist destination, this may be a training programme that you want your staff to be involved in. Please contact HITO on (04) 499 1180 or email enquiries@hito.org.nz for more information in the first instance.
To conclude, I look forward to meeting a number
of you during the Beauty Expo and Awards evening
in August. During this time HITO will be seeking
any other feedback from you to enable us to better
understand the unique features of your industry.
Regards
Erica Cumming
Chief Executive Officer
HITO