1 day massage course

[jojemac]

Hi All,

I've come over from the hair & nails forums for a bit of advice.

I've seen a 1 day massage course this week. It offers Swedish massage or Indian head massage.

What is like to know, is it actually something you can learn in a day, so is it worth me spending my money on? I've just signed up to college to train as a nail tech over a year part time. But I don't want to waste my money if

A) I need longer than a day
B) I wouldn't get insured

I did a 1 day hair extensions course, and luckily I am a quick learner with some brains so picked it up easy, and have no problems with that. I know there is a lot of bad feeling in the hair industry about 1 day extension courses, and I just wondered whether that was the same for massage?

Thanks in advance!

 

[bubulina]

Hi there
For a basic massage qualification you need to go to college .You cannot learn swedish massage in one day course .You would waste your money and you might not get insurance .
Once you have your basic massage qualification then you can go for a one day course as an add-on to your existing qualification (i.e indian head massage , deep tissue, hot stone ..etc).
Hth xxx

 

[jojemac]

Thanks very much, that's kind of what I thought!

I shan't waste my money then I am debating going to college the following year after I finish my nail tech course so I shall wait. X

 

[jcpark]

In answer to your questions.

If the course is accredited (and there are a number of bodies that do accredit one and two day massage courses - The Guild being a popular one), then yes you will be able to get insurance.

Will you need longer than a day?

There is no legal requirement for you to have any qualification to practise massage therapy, however, the national occupational standards require a minimum of 80 classroom hours to obtain a minimum qualification in massage (level 3).

The following link will show you the basic areas that need to be covered.
https://tools.skillsforhealth.org.uk/competence/show/html/id/2804/

This is for a basic Swedish/relaxation massage therapy. It does not cover you to treat any problems, nor give you the knowledge to do so, although there are many massage therapists who think it does.

One day/two days or even a week is nowhere near enough to become a competent professional massage therapist. My first qualification involved 250 classroom hours and many hours of practice. I have to do a minimum 10 hours CPD per year to keep up to date - that is more than the whole course!

Will you get work doing one of these short courses? Yes, you may well get clients, although you will have difficulty working for someone else, even in the beauty industry. In the massage industry those who do these courses are known as 'weekend warriors' and are not entertained. Most massage feels good, regardless of the competence of the practitioner and the general public (and many healthcare professionals too), have no idea of what is good massage therapy so are none the wiser.

So, to sum up, yes you probably could get insurance and get paying clients. However, such courses are an insult to the industry, will not prepare you to be a professional therapist, and perhaps it is worth reading this thread too.

http://www.salongeek.com/chit-chat/234074-im-agony.html

 

[jojemac]

Thank you for the info, very useful. I did have serious doubts hence why I was asking. I won't be doing it now, I will wait till I've done my nail tech course and think about enrolling on the massage Therapy VTCT course. X

 

[Balance Andover]

One day massage courses really do make me angry!

On the day exactly how much 'hands on' practice will you be getting? I'm guessing with watching demonstrations, lunch and working with a partner two and a half at the most, that is not enough!

If you do a full college NVQ/VRQ course that is run over a year not only will you do the minimum hours required, you will also get to work with different ages, body shapes and skin types. You need that experience to be confident enough to work in the industry, you can't fudge your way through it only doing a day course. You will also do the full A&P (which is important) and formative and summative assessments.

As it is September I am guessing that your local college may be starting a part time massage course shortly.

Good luck

Michelle

 

[jojemac]

One day massage courses really do make me angry!

On the day exactly how much 'hands on' practice will you be getting? I'm guessing with watching demonstrations, lunch and working with a partner two and a half at the most, that is not enough!

If you do a full college NVQ/VRQ course that is run over a year not only will you do the minimum hours required, you will also get to work with different ages, body shapes and skin types. You need that experience to be confident enough to work in the industry, you can't fudge your way through it only doing a day course. You will also do the full A&P (which is important) and formative and summative assessments.

As it is September I am guessing that your local college may be starting a part time massage course shortly.

Good luck

Michelle

Hi Michelle, yes they are all starting next week. I have 2 jobs, and well as now attending college 1 night a week to train as a Nail Tech so I will have to enrol next September for massage if I decide to go that route. I shall see how it goes as working 60-70 hours a week plus College might prove to sending me certifiable

 

[Balance Andover]

Hi Michelle, yes they are all starting next week. I have 2 jobs, and well as now attending college 1 night a week to train as a Nail Tech so I will have to enrol next September for massage if I decide to go that route. I shall see how it goes as working 60-70 hours a week plus College might prove to sending me certifiable

I can understand how you feel, I've just completed Level 2 beauty, level 3 massage plus lots of CPD with a stressful full-time job over the last two years.

It will be worth it in the end

 

[skingeek78]

I agree with what has been written by fellow posters, a 1 day course is not sufficient to learn massage, the anatomy knowledge alone takes a good year, perhaps they are suitable for refresher courses? But even then if I was refreshing something like massage I would require at least several days, these short courses also make me a bit cross tbh. I fear you might spend your money then end up going down the qualification route anyway, hope this helps <3 xxx

 

[jcpark]

Thank you for the info, very useful. I did have serious doubts hence why I was asking. I won't be doing it now, I will wait till I've done my nail tech course and think about enrolling on the massage Therapy VTCT course. X

It's probably worth mentioning the VTCT are the awarding body, but do not police the courses they accredit and there are many VTCT courses that fall short of their own requirements, a lot of schools/colleges cut corners and deliver the course in a much shorter time than is required, so VTCT courses can vary considerably. This is well known in the industry and due to this, their qualifications are not regarded as highly as they might otherwise be.

The important thing is to really do your homework before deciding and you have a year to look into it.