Give your local schools a call or send an email to let them
know about yourself, your spa and your hiring needs.
Let them know that you’re available as a resource to them,
too—whether that means attending a career day or
teaching a class on spa, every time you work with them is
an opportunity for you to get your spa in front of future
massage therapists, nail technicians and estheticians.
2.
Provide Them with Marketing Materials
While everyone in the spa industry is aware of
the labor shortage, those outside the industry
have no idea that there are nearly 30,000 jobs available for
service providers in U.S. spas alone. “I get a lot of appre-
hensive individuals that wonder if a person can make
money doing this, if the market is flooded,” says Amy Ball,
the admissions and financial aid coordinator at Lexington
Healing Arts Academy. “People think the market is flooded
with massage therapists.”
While the staff at Lexington Healing Arts Academy was
aware that massage therapy is a high-growth industry, they
were nonetheless surprised at the scope of the shortfall
when I shared with them the number of open positions.
It’s critical that spas and the spa industry help schools
communicate this information to prospective students.
“As an accredited school, there’s only so much that the
Department of Education will allow us to say, because we
can’t misrepresent employment opportunities,” notes Bill
Booker, executive director. “But to have industry statistics
that say that there are 28,000 jobs, and this is the average
pay, would be huge.”
Put together an info sheet or a pamphlet for your local
schools with some of the information from the latest ISPA
research, such as the number of total service provider
openings and average compensation for various service
provider types. Share numbers that show the continued
growth of the industry. Include written testimonials from
your therapists about what it’s like to work in the spa in-
dustry. Tout the spa lifestyle, too, and the benefits of work-
ing at your spa. Massage and cosmetology schools need
real-world information from real-world spas to help sell
new students on the potential of a career in spa, but they
can’t tell that story on their own.
“We need to paint a story of the employment opportu-
nities out there,” Booker says. “What does that career look
like? Most of our inquiries come here through word-of-
mouth from friends or family. The vast majority of people
have no idea what that [career] really looks like.”
3.
In Return, Let Them Market in Your Spa
People don’t decide to go into massage therapy
out of the blue—typically, they’ve had a terrific
experience at a spa that has inspired them to pursue a
new career. “Nine out of ten individuals who come in to
ask about the school say, ‘I’ve gotten massages, I really
like it and I want to help people feel like this,’” says Ball.
That means that your next massage therapist or
esthetician may not be at the local school—in fact, they
may currently be one of your most dedicated spa-goers.
Booker adds, “I think, honestly, that new therapists are
probably walking in their [the spa’s] doors every day.
They just need to help us recruit them.”
If your local school has pamphlets or promotional one-
sheeters, ask if you can display them in your spa’s lobby,
Booker suggests. “Your employees don’t have to push any-
thing, but a customer may see that and start thinking.” If
a spa-goer asks your staff about the school or a career in
spa, be willing to evangelize for the spa industry; soon,
that spa-goer may become the newly licensed massage
therapist or nail tech that your spa has been looking for.
And, because they’ve had positive experiences at your spa
“...your next massage therapist or
esthtician may not be at the local school—
in fact, they may currently be one of your
most dedicated spa-goers.”
APRIL 2020
■
PULSE
51