Spa Professionals To Be Certified By City And Guilds

The Jamaica Centre for Tourism Innovation (JCTI) is set to introduce City and Guilds certification for spa professionals on the island.

This was announced by Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, during the sixth annual Jamaica Health and Wellness Tourism Conference, which was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James on Thursday (November 14).

The initiative will be administered in collaboration with the HEART/ NSTA Trust.

“We have identified and certified four assessors who will be able to go into spas and assess staff in the following areas: beauty therapy services, massage, make-up, nail technology, hair services, women’s hair dressing, and barbering. City and Guilds is a global leader in skills development and apprenticeship schemes, with more than two million learners working on diverse qualifications,” Minister Barlett said.

The JCTI is a division of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and is tasked with facilitating the development of Jamaica’s valuable human capital and supporting innovation for the tourism sector.

The conference brought together stakeholders to explore opportunities in the emerging sector of health and wellness tourism. It was organised by the Tourism Linkages Network and seeks to position Jamaica as a premier health and wellness tourism destination.

Mr. Bartlett outlined that the sector represents a profound transformation in the way visitors view travel.

“Today’s travellers aren’t simply seeking an escape from their daily routine, they are embarking on journeys that fundamentally enhance their quality of life physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually,” he said.

For his part, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, highlighted the importance of combining the island’s wellness offerings with community

tourism, which would attract more visitors to Jamaica’s local culture and address their health and wellness needs.

Dr. Tufton also outlined that greater investment should be made in education and training, in a bid to concretise the island as a preferred wellness destination.

“Jamaica’s reputation in the international space, whether represented by these products or, more importantly, by the people who create the products, is exceptional. I think we need to train more of them, not just to offer a solution here, but when they go abroad, to offer that solution as ambassadors that will then eventually mean more people having an interest at home,” he suggested.

The conference was held under the theme: ‘Beyond the Horizon: Embracing Innovation in Health and Wellness Tourism’.