Beauty qualifications - Scotland

[geekling]

Hia all, hoping some of you can give me a helping hand here. I currently live in Newcastle and am level 3 qualified in beauty therapy, I'm looking into moving to Scotland (hopefully next year) and have been having a look at jobs etc. all the ones I have looked at say HND qualified, does anyone know if I would have to do some kind of conversion or if my qualification would be ok?

Thanks!!

 

[missty25]

In scotland you get svq which is the equivalent of nvq, so level 2 and 3 svq comparable to nvq level 2 and 3, then You can go on and do another year of HNC or a further 2 years to complete the HND. However, some people go straight to HND or HNC level depending on what qualifications they already have eg a higher in biology and English. If you have experience in a salon or working for yourself though I think that it would still be worth applying for these jobs. X

 

[catface]

Hi,

some salons and spas will take on people with Level 3, but more and more are specifying HND . there's not a conversion course as such, generally people have to complete the 2 additional years , though you may get direct entry to the final year if you have industry experience . Keep an eye out on Gumtree Glasgow, there's often vacancies on there for level 3 therapists .. good luck!

 

[lilacm]

Hi,

You don't need to do a conversion but level 3 doesn't necessarily include everything in HND and I think is equivalent to HNC. Most colleges in Scotland do HNC/HND so that is why the adverts normally use that. We have 4 salons in Scotland and out of 25 staff 7 have level 3 instead of HND and in practice the only treatments we have found that they aren't qualified in is reflexology that is included in the HND at our local colleges.

If you had other skills or training most people would consider level 3 equivalent though so I would still apply for any jobs you can find and experience is still worth a lot even if the qualification isn't as high.

 

[jmd1980]

HND is a level 5 qualification , as opposed to level 3. It can be completed in two years full time, or three years part time. You need to already be qualified to do an HND. It is a useful qualification to do if you want to be a manager or go into teaching.

 

[jmd1980]

Hi,

some salons and spas will take on people with Level 3, but more and more are specifying HND . there's not a conversion course as such, generally people have to complete the 2 additional years , though you may get direct entry to the final year if you have industry experience . Keep an eye out on Gumtree Glasgow, there's often vacancies on there for level 3 therapists .. good luck!

You cannot get direct entry to year two on HND programmes. They are structured like NVQ. There are core units that everybody has to complete in addition to optional units to make up the 240 credits. HNC is a level 4 qualification and is made up of 120 credits at levels 3 and 4.

 

[catface]

You can actually get direct entry to HN units at some Scottish colleges - I did mine as evening classes, and our level 3 learners were able to go on to infill into some HND units . It may depend on the subject , but as an example, HN body massage and Indian head massage are both Level 6 here ( level 3 on the QCF). People who hold, say, City and Guilds or VTCT Level 3 massage can go on to HND units ( level 8 /5 ) such as remedial massage or seated massage.

 

[jmd1980]

Yes, I have taught the spa and massage unit on the HND which were both level three imports from the national diploma. If you have studied these units recently on the ND you could claim APL and wouldn't have to repeat them. What I mean to say is you couldn't get advanced standing and skip a whole year as you are only allowed a small number of level 3 credits to count towards your 240 so you couldn't claim enough APL for a whole year.

 

[geekling]

Thanks so much for your replies! So I can do it but I would most likely have to do my HND as a part time course?

Thanks!