You might have spotted our announcement a few weeks ago that BABTAC has been shortlisted for the Safety in Beauty Awards – Training, Education and Professional Development Award for Professional Beauty. Well, as part of our nomination by a very lovely, anonymous member or two - Thank You - we were asked to submit a selection of supporting evidence to substantiate their nomination, and enable the judging panel to make their assessment.
It got us thinking, and although we know we work hard on your behalf to raise standards in the industry, it’s amazing to see all the work down in one place on paper! We thought you might like to take a sneaky peak at what we’ve been up to, and how we are contributing to the success and professional development of the industry, so here is a snapshot of some of our entry…
The British Association of Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology (BABTAC) is a professional association, representing and supporting therapists in all that they do. Operating not-for-profit, BABTAC is run by members, for members, and along with sister-company, Awarding Organisation CIBTAC (Confederation of International Beauty Therapy and Cosmetology), is committed to raising standards of practice, ensuring client safety and delivering exemplary education.
BABTAC’s involvement in education, training and professional development spans the full career of therapists, from development and delivery of qualifications to first-time students and post-graduates alike through sister company CIBTAC; to direct participation in and delivery of CPD training; quality assessment of industry courses to support therapists in selecting credible courses;, and work driving for increased standards.
At student level, BABTAC regularly deliver lectures to college students, highlighting the importance of quality training, CPD and insurance as part of their career. This is available free-of-charge to any college in the UK that delivers Hair & Beauty training. Some colleges introduce this as part of their student induction weeks, while others integrate it into the programme for student enrichment while in training. In the first four months of 2018 (January to April), this lecture has been delivered to classes in five colleges across the country, including Taunton & Bridgewater (both campuses), Weston College, London School of Beauty & Make Up and Grimsby Institute, with further colleges booking now for the rest of the year, including Yorkshire College on the 28th August for their student induction. In addition, this is supported by full student information packs which are made available to colleges, with or without delivery of the formal presentation.
At student and post-graduate level, BABTAC supports with the development of qualifications which meet or exceed national standards, assuring that students graduate at any stage, fully salon-ready. These are developed with sister-company CIBTAC, as well as in partnership with other awarding organisations to which we lend our support.
As an organisation, we are committed to raising professional standards within the UK, across the board. Our work includes:
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Core standards: BABTAC has committed to holding therapists to the highest industry standards. We do this by:
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assessing all industry qualifications, and only accepting appropriate qualifications and courses which properly train therapists and assure client safety
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requesting copies of all certificates prior to insuring members, to qualify that therapists are fully trained in all disciplines that they deliver treatments
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producing a Good Practice Guide for members which set out both insurance expectations for all treatments alongside best practice procedures demanded by BABTAC. We detail the highest possible standards that members should seek to attain at all times, assuring client safety
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providing a blog, bi-monthly magazine and therapists-directed social media channels which feature educational articles and guidance on standards and improving standards.
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Campaigns and advice on specific issues: some of the work we do is to establish appropriate standard levels for specific treatments, or push to improve them across the industry. In the last 24-months, this has included:
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an awareness campaign to therapists and clients about the importance of patch-testing for safety. Therapists are mandated by BABTAC to patch test, and our campaign has helped define protocols for therapists, and encourage clients to know their rights.
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campaigning against Human Trafficking, encouraging therapists to identify potential trafficking victims working in their town, and ensuring that clients ask about a therapist’s right to work. Not all trafficked individuals are unqualified, however many are. At best, Human Trafficking is unethical and needs to be eliminated; at worst it presents a danger to individuals. Our work included a partnership with Charity Unseen for their ‘let’s nail it’ campaign which saw MPs, Celebrities and clients paint their nails. We have also worked extensively with the Government and Scottish Parliament on their campaigns to eradicate the issues.
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we have a number of pending partnership with professional bodies in other sectors, whose professionals overlap with, or complement the work done by beauty therapists. These partnerships are due to come online by September 2018, and are set to improve cross-profession standards and protect consumers and professionals alike. Our work will include dual-branded educational pieces and joint campaigns to therapists and other professionals, demonstrations and workshops at exhibitions and a public-safety awareness campaign.
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treating clients with cancer has received significant discussion in recent months, after clients were turned away from treatments. BABTAC has collated and provided definitive advice and guidance to therapists on the do’s and do not’s of treating patients with cancer, and has also been the authority voice in many consumer publications, advising what clients can and should expect. We have also newly assessed the industry training available to therapists and have published our training guidance in the May / June issue of Vitality. Our stance will also be published in the Good Practice Guide, having been endorsed by Macmillan Cancer Support.
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Campaigning for industry regulation: regulation in the industry is currently voluntary, and this creates a huge disparity in standards of treatment and client care and safety. We have been actively campaigning for mandatory regulation for the last two years, working to assure minimum standards for therapists to meet, and therefore protection of the client. Our work has included contributions to Government Consultation, meetings with MPs including John McNally MP, positions on Government advisory boards in England and Scotland, and significant media exposure of the issue. The topic is slowly but surely gaining traction and we continue to drive for regulation.
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Non-surgical cosmetic interventions: BABTAC worked extensively to support and contribute to the original review by Sir Bruce Keogh, promoting client safety and standards and advising on the beauty industry. We are now engaging with the resulting JCCP to ensure that the standards attained by therapists meet or exceed those expected by the newly published standards. In light of this, we are also ensuring that from September 2018, historic Level 3 qualifications will no longer be accepted in any of the listed disciplines, and we have supported affected therapists with appropriate training pathways to upskill. In addition, our sister company CIBTAC is also working in partnership with a consulting plastic surgeon and medical aesthetics training provider to launch an industry-first beauty therapy qualification in early May – Level 5 Laser Tattoo Removal.
With continuous professional development at our core, we are committed to supporting our members, promoting quality courses and delivering CPD events, including:
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Endorsing CPD courses – we work with training providers to review, evaluate and upgrade the CPD courses that they produce, to ensure that they are fit-for-purpose. We then promote credible courses to members through Vitality magazine.
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CPD Forums – this year we have launched forums and CPD workshops which are touring the UK, The first was in London in February, and we are offering free training in Scotland on the 10th May. Future dates are pending but include one at Dermalogica Head Office (Leatherhead) on the 15th June and at their Derby office on the 19th July. In the latter part of the year, these CPD workshops will offer free Cancer Therapy Taster Workshops, which will be delivered each month, as well as a seminar and on-stage presentation at Olympia Beauty Exhibition as part of their Wellness Seminar Programme.
Wow! We’ve been busy and we hope you are seeing the benefit from all that we do. For more detailed descriptions of all our activity and to keep up to date don’t forget to follow us on social media and keep an eye on our blog…
