Monday, July 15, 2013

College: New esthetics, literacy programs can help students land jobs

Gaston College

Gaston College student Maria Arevalo, left, watches as her instructor Janisha Gardner works with hair in the salon at the college on South Aspen Street in Lincolnton on Tuesday. The college is offering two new certificate programs in esthetics technology and early literacy this fall.

Mike Hensdill

Published: Sunday, July 14, 2013 at 19:50 PM.

Gaston College is rolling out two new programs designed to help job applicants beef up their resumes ? and land jobs.

Certificate programs in esthetics technology and early literacy begin this fall.

Expanding the cosmetology department, the new esthetics classes offer training in skincare treatment, hair removal, makeup application, aromatherapy and facials, said BreAnne Walker, chairwoman of the department.

The esthetics program takes two semesters to complete. For the first semester students meet five days a week in four-hour sessions. During the second semester, the class meets four hours each day, four days a week.

Walker said the goal is for students to earn the certificate and find employment. The program is geared toward the unemployed, as well as people already in the cosmetology field.

Esthetics job openings in the United States have grown by 38 percent in the last five years, she said.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in that time, 14,700 new jobs have opened for skin care specialists, said Gaston College spokeswoman Stephanie Michael-Pickett.

?You see a lot more day spas opening up,? Walker said. ?People are really getting into the pampering and the skincare treatment, taking care of their skin, more so than they have in the past.?

About 13,000 salons in North Carolina are licensed to offer hair, skin and nail treatments, said Lynda Elliott, executive director of the N.C. Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners.

Tuition for the new program costs an estimated $2,000 for both semesters, including an esthetics kit, books, and lab fees, Walker said.

Early reading

If you?re interested in working at a preschool or child care center, earning an early literacy certificate could give you an edge to beat out other job applicants, said Eileen Yantz, coordinator for early childhood education at Gaston College.

Gaston College is the first community college in the state to offer the new program, aimed at equipping teachers to help children as young as 1 become familiar with written and spoken words.

Yantz said the college decided to implement the program because preschool teacher education programs don?t focus enough on helping with early literacy.

A grant for more than $25,000 from the N.C. Community College Association will pay for materials and attempt to retain Gaston College students enrolled in the early childhood program so they can earn their associates? degrees, she said.

Students will learn how to teach young children about language and make them more aware of reading, everything from how to open books to reading from left to right.

Tuition is around $750 for the one-semester program, she said. The classes will meet Saturdays from 9 a.m. until noon.

You can reach Wade Allen at 704-869-1828 or twitter.com/GazetteWade.

Source: http://www.gastongazette.com/spotlight/college-new-esthetics-literacy-programs-can-help-students-land-jobs-1.172206

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