There are few institutions quite like Seaham Hall's Temple Spa in North East England. This highly prestigious spa is well known for the quality of its treatments and its amazing facilities and also the quality of the staff who work there.
For Catherine Rhodes, 18, from South Hetton and a former student of Easington Academy, it was her time at East Durham College studying beauty therapy that helped prepare her to take up the role of a Massage Therapist at the Temple Spa at Seaham Hall.
"My time at EDC prepared me for employment not only through learning the vital skills you need to perform the job but also teaching me how to interact with different clients, we don’t know who is going to walk through that door so being prepared for everything is vital." said Catherine. "I have managed to input these skills already through my time at Seaham hall whilst interacting with clients. My course taught me the basic moves of massage which gave me the primary resources to build upon during my training."
Making a decision to come to college and choose a career path is a daunting task for any student leaving school, but for Catherine, her decision to study at East Durham College was an easy one to make.
"I decided to study at east Durham college as it was close to home and I saw an opportunity for personal growth and development but also to expand my knowledge being taught by someone who has worked in this industry for multiple decades." she said. "My tutor was able to input her personal experiences to broaden our view on the amount of opportunities there are."
Having studied at East Durham College and gained a wide array of new skills as part of her course, Catherine was in a fantastic position to take advantage of a great opportunity when it came about.
Due to her training at EDC, her work ethic and her skills, she interviewed and was recruited as a massage therapist at Seaham Hall.
When we asked her about what's the best thing about being at Seaham Hall, she was very enthusiastic about the team she's working with. Catherine said: "The best part about my job at Seaham hall is the team ethic, I received such a warm welcome and have had the chance to become so close to my colleagues in such a short space of time. When I was struggling they all jumped in and helped wherever they could even just setting up my bed for my next client."
Catherine has also seen a huge change in herself during her time at EDC and after beginning employment. It all started from studying at East Durham College, and Catherine is very enthusiastic about recommending the college to others and studying beauty therapy.
She said: "My advice for learners considering studying beauty therapy would be to absolutely go for it! It’s such a rewarding industry and it allows you to meet so many amazing people. I came into this industry as a quiet, shut off person and by the end of it I’ve found my confidence and feel so proud that I pushed myself when making that decision."
Although Catherine is thoroughly enjoying her time at Seaham Hall, she's already looking forward to the future in her career too.
"My career goals for the future would be to work on a cruise ship; it has always been a dream of mine to travel the world so being able to do something I love alongside travelling would be so rewarding." she said.
Rebecca Clark, who is the Head Therapist at Seaham Hall, has a lot of praise from Catherine since she started with the spa.
She said: "Catherine has been a great addition to the Seaham hall team. She has exceeded all of our expectations and is extremely proactive with everything she does and has proven very helpful towards the full team here at Seaham and has become an amazing part of it. We have had nothing put great feedback from all her clients and in her short time with us she has become fully trained in two product houses and is always ready to push herself out of her comfort zone and learn new skills. Catherine has been brilliant from the moment she stepped through our doors and it is a pleasure to have her working here with us."
