INVESTIGATION GLOBAL REACH
One of the great advantages of online educational off erings, of course, is that they can be accessed anywhere in the world. Since going online four years ago, the number of international students signing up to the UC Irvine programme has increased dramatically – mak- ing up 26 per cent of enrolments – says Jeantet, and Shaw is also hopeful that a new marketing campaign will boost num- bers of overseas as well as UK applicants. One way online training providers can maximise this global reach – and arguably help address the shortfall of spa manage- ment training in developing markets – is to forge partnerships with other educational organisations around the world. UC Irvine already has agreements with the University of Houston in Texas and the Royal Mel- bourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in Australia (see sb08/4 p44), where its certif- icate can be credited towards a bachelor’s degree in hotel and restaurant management or a masters in wellness respectively. T e University of Derby Online, meanwhile, is in talks with several potential satellite sites in south-east Asia and southern Europe. Another university-led spa management
training initiative with global accessibility at the forefront is the virtual learning pro- gramme that came out of the Innovations and Learning in Spa Management (ILIS) project. Conducted from 2008-2010 and funded by the European Commission to the tune of €400,000 (us$488,650, £316,000), ILIS was a unique research collaboration between uni-
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Rather than blaming universities, the industry should work with educators to provide clearer career paths for graduates, as well as ongoing support
versities in Finland, the UK, Poland, Spain and Austria, with the ultimate objective of raising standards in the European wellness industry as a means of boosting both tour- ism and employment opportunities. One of the most tangible outcomes of the project – which included in-depth interviews with managers from 25 spas across the fi ve coun- tries – was the development of four virtual training modules, each concentrating on a diff erent need: spa operations, marketing spa services, understanding fi nance and IT, and strategic management. According to project leader Susanna Saari,
a senior lecturer in hospitality at Turku University of Applied Sciences in Finland, what sets the ILIS modules apart from other online off erings is not only their extensive coverage – each module involves roughly 270 hours of study – but also their close attention to industry requirements based on the intensive research. T e modules are also designed to be fl ex-
ible. T ey are available as an online global programme through Turku University of Applied Sciences, but they can also be taught face-to-face as part of an existing degree course. Crucially, each of the mod-
PART TWO
ules qualifi es for 10 credits within the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) for higher education, giving them cur- rency across the continent.
INDUSTRY INVESTMENT
Yet while the range of spa man- agement training options available to working professionals appears
to be widening, such courses do not come cheap. And while some operators are will- ing to fully or partly subsidise their staff to undergo training, many more aren’t.
“Employers often don’t want to invest in education for their spa managers, because they’re afraid they’ll move on and take that investment elsewhere,” says Bjurstam, add- ing that only 50 per cent of the students who sign up for Raison d’Etre’s spa management courses get any help from their employers. Not all employers take this attitude,
however. Global corporation Banyan Tree already has its in-house Fast Track and Man- agement Trainee Programmes (see sb1/2 p26) while Hyatt Hotels is looking to intro- duce a similar training scheme (see sb11/4 p32). In addition, Hilton recently launched a certifi cate programme in spa management, for staff in its Asia-Pacifi c properties, in partnership with Australia-based tourism and hospitality training provider the Wil- liam Angliss Institute. Focusing on Asia-Pacifi c as the region
with the least existing educational provision and the greatest need in terms of fast-de- veloping markets – especially China – the Hilton programme is delivered over nine
Spa and Hospitality Management Certificate Program
Leading spa education with the only fully online, instructor-led certificate program
extension.uci.edu/spa
UC Irvine has attracted more international pupils with its online spa certifi cate course
The University of Derby is currently researching ways to deliver courses via mobile phones 62 Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital SPA BUSINESS 3 2012 ©Cybertrek 2012
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