I was heartened to read recently of a man of 76 who has just started training to be a nurse. So many times you hear people saying “if only I was 10 years younger I would…..” and that, as far as I’m concerned, is a cop out.
I was in my 40’s, having raised a family, when I decided to enroll at my local college and train to be a Beauty Therapist. It was scary when I first started, and my family was taking bets how long I would last, but I soon started to felt more at ease and 12 months later I had my NVQ qualification in Beauty Therapy.
Having left School with no GCSE’s or ‘O’ levels, this was the first time I had achieved any form of formal qualification. Having enjoyed my first year, I then completed a second year and gained my Level 3 qualifications in Holistic Therapies. This opened up a whole new world and was the beginning of a new career where I went on to have my own salon. Several years later when I was in my 50’s I again returned to education and 3 years later completed my degree. I now teach nail and beauty therapy to keen students who want to change their lives and want to learn a new skill.
There is no age limit and there is no right or wrong time to do this. It’s never too late and you’r never too old to change your life so take the first step and make that call to take the next step in your life.
So is it acceptable to leave entering the world of beauty until a later age in a traditionally younger industry? Some people would think so. With the ever changing employment world, redundancy etc, more and more older people are finding they have to consider the idea of starting a fresh career at a later age. The beauty industry is most certainly one of them. However you should not be put off entering this beauty world as it can work in your favour. Whereas being a younger person can be seen as a blank canvass and more willing to absorb new techniques, an older person will already have a gained a certain amount of knowledge just by the number of years life experience they have achieved.
Mature students are easily able to fit in with younger students and this can work as an advantage to both age groups. Younger students may have fresh ideas to share but a mature student is likely to be more confident and this will inevitably reflect their fellow students and ultimately in the future, on their clients too.
Clients are able to relax more with a mature person as this can make them feel they are in safer hands. If a treatment has to adapted for a client then a younger person might not have the necessary experience to put this into practice. Skills and maturity can only develop over a matter of time and experience. Entering a salon full of young, glamorous women can be very off putting whereas having a more mature person offering treatments would certainly be more appealing to some. Mature workers could certainly be seen as most suited to front of house positions as they provide a warm, friendly first port of call.
Some would argument that the majority of opportunities in the beauty industry are more suited to younger people as they are often more physically demanding and require commitment during what can be quite unsociable hours. However, mature students can often be more reliable and service orientated and are less likely to switch jobs therefore giving businesses and their clients more stability.
