On course

Candice Glanville, founder of Skin Group International (SGI) shares her thoughts on the Government’s proposed licensing scheme and how SGI is making qualifications more accessible with bespoke learning pathways

How did Skin Group International come about?

“My master’s degree is in education, I’m not an expert in aesthetics, but I have been able to bring together those that are. My business model has been acquiring businesses from people who were ready for retiring.

“Back In 2014, Sir Bruce Keogh released a report looking into shortfalls in training in the aesthetics and cosmetics sectors, finding that the industry was largely unregulated and the Level 4 to 7 training modules may need rethinking. At the time, I was involved in training for lasers. My mentor was a biomedical scientist who had worked in hospitals for around 40 years. He was almost 70 when the Keogh report came out, but he started to develop training courses around it.

“Realising its potential, when he was ready for retirement, I asked if I could buy his training business and keep him on as a consultant – this was back in 2017 and was my first venture with Skin Group International.

“Since then, I have acquired many other training businesses that were in trouble of shutting down. In 2019, I acquired Sally Durant Training. I have been able to help many people achieve their qualifications and a lot of those success stories have actually gone on to become part of my team and teach for me.”

What are your thoughts on the proposed aesthetic procedure licensing scheme?

“Change is going to happen but nobody knows how that will look yet as it hasn’t gone to consultation. This uncertainty is scaring people but we need to take that fear factor away.

“We don’t want people being hoodwinked into spending thousands on courses if they can provide evidence that they have experience. They should be able to have that recognised and count towards whatever changes will come.”

How are you helping ensure those with experience are not disadvantaged by changing regulation?

“As Bruce Keogh said when he released his report, somebody that hasn’t got a formal qualification should not be disadvantaged if they have experience. Anatomy and physiology, working on skin, the consultation process, looking for contraindications – all of those skills take years to build up. It’s not something you can just jump into.

“However, there are many people who have done training, but not through what we call a regulated qualification. That’s not a bad thing because they’re still getting education,and manufacturers and professional brands have a duty of care to teach buyers how to operate their device or product.

“That education is still of value but it’s not necessarily going to give you all of the underpinning knowledge or the qualification that you need.

“For those who come to SGI, we call this ‘recognition of prior learning’ or prior experience. We ask for proof of this via a video of a treatment being carried out so that we are able to see if what they are doing covers everything in the criteria. If it doesn’t, we bring them in for more training. If it does, you would still have to do a practical exam but it’s not like starting from zero. People should not be disadvantaged because they haven’t got a piece of paper if they can evidence that they have got the needed skills.”

How are you helping to make qualifications more accessible?

“Our solution is to be as flexible as possible to get people where they want to be. For example, for some people, English may not be their first language, so a written assignment could be a huge stumbling block. Our team would get that person on a Zoom call to discuss the treatments they are doing and extract that knowledge from them.

“There are lots of ways of showing that you have those skills and competencies – it doesn’t have to be done in the oldfashioned way. Live video can’t lie. With Gatehouse Awards, the awarding body we use at SGI, you don’t have to do an end exam under exam conditions because I have found that people often crumble in front of an examiner – their mind goes blank.

“There need to be different ways to extract the competency because people’s mental health isn’t something we can shy away from. We give people the option to be examined the old-fashioned way with Cibtac, or to be observed in a series of videos combined with video conversations.

The awarding body watches every video and makes their own judgement. By zooming in on a live video of someone doing a treatment in their own premises it’s 100% authentic. People are different in their own premises, more relaxed.

“After Covid-19, some people don’t want to travel so we go to them to train them on their premises. We want to make it easy.”

What advice would you give to anyone worried about their current qualifications under the proposed licensing scheme?

“If you are unsure about any of the current regulations, you can always go to the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP), who will give you the correct answer. If you don’t have any qualifications, don’t panic.

“You need to gather evidence of all of your experience to date, which you can then bring to SGI and we will see if there are any gaps in training.”