Published: 29th September 2020.
Written by Elisa Thompson
Studying a Certificate III in Beauty Services will prepare you for work in a variety of different positions within the beauty industry. You will learn to provide a range of services to clients (from makeup to tanning and waxing) through a combination of theoretical study and practical experience. Many course providers even require that students bring live models to class in order to hone and demonstrate their technical skills.
The course also allows students to specialise in different aspects of beauty. For example, it may enable you to become an eyelash and eyebrow technician or a nail technician. You will learn how to consult with clients to achieve their desired beauty outcomes – helping to empower your customers – as well as strategies for maintaining discretion and professionalism when working on sensitive, beauty-related issues.
While the Certificate III in Beauty has a specific focus on the beauty industry, it also provides students with general and transferable skills that will enable them to work as a retail assistant across a number of different fields. Units within this course teach general customer service skills and the management of financial transactions, which are relevant to industries beyond beauty.
People with an interest in aesthetic and beauty trends may enjoy this course, as well as those who have artistic tendencies. A particular talent in these areas may not be necessary, but strong communication skills and a desire to work with people will be advantageous.
The Certificate III in Beauty Services prepares you for the following careers:
Beautician
A
beautician, or beauty therapist, is responsible for providing clients with a number of different services including (but not limited to) applying makeup, waxing, nail art, and various other treatments such as facials and massages. They are expected to provide their customers with a friendly and professional delivery of these services, in a number of different environments. Some beauticians work in salons, while others work at resorts and on cruise ships, and some even work from home as freelancers.
Waxing Therapist
The role of a
waxing therapist involves the removal of hair from people’s bodies, often using hot or strip wax. They must consult with their clients to ensure that there is a clear consensus on the desired result, as well as an understanding of the methods necessary to achieve this. Furthermore, waxing therapists provide their customers with after-care services such as soothing balms and moisturising products, and they must follow stringent sanitising procedures to ensure that the services they provide are both hygienic and as comfortable as possible.
Makeup Artist
Makeup artists can work in a number of different industries, from beauty to media. Most commonly they work within salons as part of a team, or from their own home as freelancers or contractors. Often, they are hired by clients to apply their makeup for special events such as school balls and weddings. Some makeup artists work with prosthetics and use other techniques to cover disfigurements or cosmetic blemishes. They may work with individuals or within creative enterprises, applying general beauty makeup or performing additional work for the purposes of costumes or special effects on film.
Higher education pathways
Upon completing the Certificate III in Beauty Services, students may like to continue their education within more specialised areas of the beauty industry. For example, the Certificate IV in Beauty Therapy and the Diploma of Beauty Therapy are both popular pathways because they may enable students to work within managerial positions (such as a salon manager, store manager, retail manager, or department manager), or become entrepreneurs and run their own salons. The freedom that these career choices afford may be appealing to many people, and can be enhanced through studying other business-related course such as the Certificate IV in Small Business Management or the Diploma of Social Media Marketing.
For those who wish to study within this industry at the university level, you may choose to pursue an understanding of cosmetic medical practice. The Graduate Diploma of Cosmetic Nursing, for example, allows students to work within cosmetic medicine, learning about the science behind cosmetic surgery, light-based and laser treatments, and injectables. However, in order to pursue this area of study it is a prerequisite to hold a nursing qualification, such as the Diploma of Nursing.
There are also a number of degrees in unrelated fields which student may wish to transfer to, and which may have specialisations that align with the Certificate III in Beauty Services. Some course providers offer the Diploma of Screen and Media with a focus on creative makeup. This course allows students to further develop their skills within hair and makeup, and prepares them for work within film, television, dance, advertising, and other media-related industries.
Getting started
The Certificate III in Beauty Services is usually completed within one year, and consists of eleven core units and four electives. It is offered by a number of different course providers, including those that specialise in the beauty industry, which may have additional resources such as on-site salons at their students’ disposal. Before enrolling, it’s important to request information from different course providers in order to compare their duration, cost, prerequisites, and content. It is also advisable that you check for additional costs aside from that of the course materials. Most course providers require students to purchase items such as a uniform and resource or tool kits, as these are essential for professionals who work within this field.
Working within the beauty industry allows students to follow a huge number of pathways, from being employed in a salon as part of a team, to working from home as a specialist and building your own client base from scratch using social media strategies. Different pathways require different skills so it’s important to check what each course provider offers in order to guarantee that they are able to give you the skills necessary to meet your future career goals.