So as you may be aware there is a new team currently running the Spa and Wellness blog!
Simon, Laura, Ashlea and Sarah
We are final year BSc (Hons) International Spa Management (Accelerated) students, who have decided to showcase what the spa industry has to offer, and what career directions and opportunities are available.
This first interview instalment is with Charles and Victoria, who are lecturers at the University of Derby, Buxton. They have very kindly taken time out of their schedule to let us interview them, so lets hear what they have to say.....
"Do something that you love, that drives you and fills you with passion"
Name-Charles Spring
What is your current position/job role?
Senior Lecturer in Spa and Wellness Management at the University of Derby, Buxton.
How many years have you been in this position?
Since 2001 at the University of Derby.
Do you have any interests or hobbies?
I have taught martial arts to a wide range of people for over 20 years.
Running clubs outside of work for people between the ages of 6 and 72.
Used to teach a martial arts degree at the University of Derby, Buxton.
Why do you love this position?
I had a very inspirational history teacher at school who made me want to peruse a career in education and teaching. I enjoy passing on knowledge and information to individuals.
Since being a lecture in Spa and Wellness management I have learnt a lot about the industry, being from a leisure management and plumbing background everything I have learnt from spa has been new information. It would be nice to see more males taking part in the Spa and Wellness degree and getting involved in the industry.
What pathway did you take to get there?
After leaving school, I attended college as an apprentice plumber and progressed in this area for a number of years, finally being the owner of my own plumbing business. I then decided to study for a degree in Leisure Management at the university. I was then later on poached by the college where I did my degree, to become a lecturer, which has now been my job for 21 years this year.
Do you have any future aspirations or a dream job?
I am currently studying towards my doctorate as I really enjoy learning and being a student. The doctorate was a tick box for me, I really wanted to take this as the next step for me.
I am not seeking a new job role as I am happy with where my work life is at the moment, however, I would like to become more focused in the future on martial arts by recruiting individuals and trying to aim for the World Champion in Martial Arts. I have already gained the British and English champion. After being told twice I would be unable to do martial arts ever again, I was stubborn and still continued to practice as it was a great passion of mine.
Are there any tips you would give to people starting out?
My advice for people starting out in any industry would be to do something you love, something that drives you and fills you with passion. When selecting a degree whether it be at 18 years old or older it is important to do something that interests you.
"Its great to teach something that is new and challenging to students, as once they understand, its so nice to see the penny drop"
Name- Victoria Rosamond
What is your current position/job role?
Lecturer in Spa and Tourism
I teach over all subject areas such as Spa, Tourism, Hospitality, Wellness and Culinary. These subjects usually consist of business development, marketing, and Human Resources, as well as this, I have 2 spa specific modules that I also teach.
How many years have you been in this position?
My most current position I have held for 1 Year, previous to this I actually was the programme leader for (BSc Hons) International Spa Management for 4 years.
Do you have any interests or hobbies?
I enjoy up-cycling furniture and going on Spa days/retreats (Obviously!!), I also love doing yoga.
Why do you love this position?
I love my job, it always brings something different, even if you teach the same modules each year there’s such a wide range of students that attend the university, who all interact differently.
I really like my business modules, these are usually my favourite to teach as this is my background, it’s great to teach something that is new and challenging to students as once they understand, it’s so nice to see the reaction of the penny dropping.
What pathway did you take to get there?
After studying at school I went to sixth form to study A-levels in Business, Economics, Textiles and English (Very maths based!!).
I started my maths A-Level early as this was something my school offered and was something I was particularly good at. From there I decided to work in Banking, however, slowly realised that this position wasn’t for me.
Beauty therapy was always something I had thought about doing, but because of my background, it was kind of seen as not a real job. Once I had realised I could do this at University level, it was great, so in 2005 I studied on the BSc (hons) International Spa Management degree.
The Devonshire Spa was not open at the time of my studying so I gained experience at places like Alton Towers Spa, Also during my studies, I worked for the university’s marketing department, doing open days, college lesson, summer camps.
Once my degree had finished I moved to Hong Kong and worked for the Mandarin Oriental, my role was to sit and download data information from all the Mandarin spas around the world and analyse it.
They then kindly helped me to fund my studies further by coming back to Buxton and studying for the Masters degree in International Spa management, I was the first and only student to do this course at the time!!
The Devonshire Spa finally opened, so I used this as another opportunity to get more hands on experience, after this, I landed a job as a sales rep at Elemis, then went onto business manager, then finally onto Operations executive.
After this, I decided I wanted more of a team environment within my working life, so I decided to go into teaching.
Do you have any future aspirations or a dream job?
At some point in the future I would like to do my PhD, however at the moment I would like to focus on my children and once they have gotten a bit older I will then potentially progress into that.
I see myself staying within academia for the rest of my career, because I love it!.