Supporting and Educating
We hear from the Federation of Holistic Therapists Vice President and CEO of the NHBF, Caroline Larissey, to understand the importance of regulation and accreditation in the beauty industry and how the Federation of Holistic Therapists supports this.
Please introduce the Federation of Holistic Therapists and what they try to achieve?
For over 60 years, the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) has been a driving force in maintaining high standards in therapy education and practice in the UK. Now, holding over 10,000 members worldwide, the FHT continues to fly the flag for professional holistic therapists within the sector, accepting over 350 therapies. Being the largest professional association for beauty, sports and complementary therapists, the FHT is the association of choice for professional therapists, as well as those starting out or teaching.
What does a FHT membership provide?
Comprehensive FHT membership and insurance packages have been designed to help you get ahead as a therapist, ensuring that you’re covered with an insurance policy that keeps you and your clients safe. Suitable memberships are available for everyone, regardless if you are at the start of your career, a qualified therapist looking for development, or are slowing down and wishing to just keep in touch with the therapist community.
What is the importance of regulating qualifications?
Unfortunately, there are numerous black market, non-accredited education and training providers in the beauty industry. Said training can be very expensive, misleading, provide little knowledge or skill, and may not meet insurance requirements. Regulating qualifications is the benchmark required by the sector and insurance providers to demonstrate professional competence to work within the industry.
How does the FHT support Continued Personal Development?
Once a beauty professional has completed a regulated qualification at the correct level for their job role, they will continue to develop their skills, knowledge, and competency levels. As techniques and client requirements change, the professionals in the beauty sector will train, adapt, and learn while working to ensure they are up-to-date and meeting business needs. It must be clear that a Continued Personal Development (CPD) course is not a qualification; instead, it enables a practitioner to study further and provides additional breadth and depth of learning. As part of a training provider centre approval, an awarding organisation will complete a site approval and ongoing monitoring via an external verification process.
What education does the FHT provide?
The FHT provide a whole range of CPD and further education courses that allow their members to continue their education at a discounted rate. These courses are run by FHT themselves, as well as hundreds of Accredited Course Providers. The FHT is thrilled to introduce the Student Therapist Education Programme (STEP), a new online programme tailored specifically for students, running from March 4th-15th.
