From TAFE NSW graduate to successful business owner, it’s been a whirlwind three years for Tamworth’s Melissa Jansen.

With the 2019 Grattan Institute Risks and Rewards Report indicating that a vocational education and training graduate is likely to start earning more money, earlier in their career, than an equivalent university graduate, Melissa made the life-changing decision to study a Diploma of Beauty Therapy at TAFE NSW.

After raising two children and working as a salesperson in a jewellery store and pharmacy for more than two decades, Melissa was ready for a new challenge.

Melissa said, “It had been a long-time dream of mine to pursue a career in the beauty industry, starting when I did work experience as a 16-year-old at a local beauty salon.

“In 2017, when my children were at an age where I could do something for me, I finally decided it was time to follow my dreams, so I enrolled to study the Diploma of Beauty Therapy at TAFE NSW.

“From the moment I walked into the classroom, I knew I had made the right choice. As a mature-aged student I never felt like I didn’t deserve to be there and the TAFE NSW teachers had a wealth of knowledge and industry experience that ensured all students received the best training possible.

“The skills that I learnt at TAFE NSW definitely gave me the determination and confidence to be my own boss and open my own business.”

Melissa’s dream became reality in 2018 after she successfully obtained her Diploma qualification and opened her own business, Spiritual Beauty.

Thanks to the skills she learnt at TAFE NSW, Melissa offers a range of beauty treatments at her salon including facials, massage, waxing, tinting and body treatments, as well as more spiritual services such as aura cleansing, chakra balancing, full body balancing and sound healing.

TAFE NSW Tamworth Beauty Head Teacher, Kristen Elliott, said, “Our teachers knew very early on that Melissa was destined for a successful career in beauty, and the fact that she’s completed this course and is now operating a successful business in less than three years speaks volumes for how talented and hardworking she is.

“Melissa is a fine example that it’s never too late to study or chase your dreams. With the Australian Government Job’s outlook website predicting 25,000 new beauty therapy jobs across Australia until 2023, there’s never been a better time to consider a career in beauty and the best place to start is TAFE NSW.”

For more information about the range of beauty courses available at TAFE NSW, visit www.tafensw.edu.au or phone 131 601.

Media contact: Luke Schuyler, TAFE NSW Media and Communications Business Partner, 0439 536 563.