How to have a family and a dream education

How to have a family and a dream education

Graduating Beauty therapist, Dearnn Reiri rates the parent-friendly culture at UCOL Wairarapa up there with the quality of the teaching.

Dearnn waited until her fourth child was at kindergarten four days a week to pursue her interest in beauty therapy. She started with the six month Level 3 Certificate in Cosmetology and then completed her Diploma in Beautician and Electrology, Level 5.

She will be one of the grauating students at UCOL Wairarapa’s graduation ceremony in Masterton tomorrow (Thursday).

“I’ve always wanted to train in beauty therapy,” she says. “I’ve worked in pharmacies all my working life but I need a business that is home based and can fit around my family.”

She says the UCOL programme equipped her well for a career as a beautician. It included physics, chemistry, physiology and anatomy as well as a business unit, where students developed their own business plan. Her intake for the diploma was also the first to sit and pass the International Therapeutic Examination Council diploma, which required students to complete case studies, and sit a written and practical examination with an external assessor.

Dearnn is now working part-time at a Masterton beauty therapy clinic, Dermal Focus, on a wide range of tasks from waxing to skin treatments and massage.

She says the transition from student to working in beauty therapy is made very easy by UCOL’s public clinics. “It’s fantastic because you get to practice what you are learning. So many clients come in to UCOL so you are not nervous when you start a new job dealing with the public.”

Dearnn recommends the UCOL Wairarapa programme, which has a 9-3pm timetable. She was able to use the crèche facilities for her youngest child and received a lot of support from her programme lecturers. “Four of us had children and that included two solo mums and they really did try to cater to our needs, including coming in on a couple of Saturdays to help us with extra preparation for our assessments.”

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