I am very new to this area, although have experienced the recieving end of massage for many years, it is only now, I find I have the time to pursue it as a vocation and I have decided after lots of reading and some good advice on here that I am going to start with Swedish Body Massage.
After seeing a great number of courses, with a huge array of differences, I have settled on this one:
Which includes doing the theory at home, then practical training at their school in Swindon, as well as assessment days and portfolio days to finally gain an NVQ from VTCT (Level 3) in Swedish Massage.
This seems to tick all the right boxes for me, in that I can do the theory at home, (I have studied degrees at both brick universities and OU - so I know distance learning works for me) But I still have the practical hands on training, as well as obtaining a recognised VTCT cert at the end.
But I wanted to run it past you guys in the know...before I potentially throw hundeds of pounds and hours of work away....
I am very new to this area, although have experienced the recieving end of massage for many years, it is only now, I find I have the time to pursue it as a vocation and I have decided after lots of reading and some good advice on here that I am going to start with Swedish Body Massage.
After seeing a great number of courses, with a huge array of differences, I have settled on this one:
Which includes doing the theory at home, then practical training at their school in Swindon, as well as assessment days and portfolio days to finally gain an NVQ from VTCT (Level 3) in Swedish Massage.
This seems to tick all the right boxes for me, in that I can do the theory at home, (I have studied degrees at both brick universities and OU - so I know distance learning works for me) But I still have the practical hands on training, as well as obtaining a recognised VTCT cert at the end.
But I wanted to run it past you guys in the know...before I potentially throw hundeds of pounds and hours of work away....
Many thanks,
PF
Did I read that correctly? 1 day of practical training??!! If I read it right, then it's a bl##dy joke! Sorry for being blunt, but this type of "accredited course" is what gives decent massage practitioners and training providers a bad reputation. How can we market ourselves as professional health care providers when this is the type of "recognised" course on offer?!?!
Wow, wasn't expecting quite such a negative response...
I am surprised because it is a level 3 VTCT course, which is a qualification that has been mentioned lots on various threads about training. And also because although there is only 1 day practical training, this is a full day, and in a small group or 1 to 1 where as my local college that wants to charge about 4 times as much, and doesn't start till September, is a much bigger class, spread over 30 weeks, but many of those 2 hour classes are theory...
And then there are the assessment days that I need to attend, where they will watch me (in order to asses) doing what ever part of the treatment is being assessed, and so being able to stop me and tell me if I am doing something wrong.
It would be great if you guys could point me in the direction of places with more reputable courses? Just saying this one is rubbish isn't a massive amount of help at this stage...
It would be great if you guys could point me in the direction of places with more reputable courses? Just saying this one is rubbish isn't a massive amount of help at this stage...
Thanks
x
You asked for thoughts on one particular course, as you had settled on that, which is what you got
My advice to anyone looking at doing a massage course is first go on a taster workshop, to see if you actually enjoy it. You would be surprised how many people book onto massage courses then run off when they realise they have to undress and even worse, touch people! (I am not joking either!)
All major awarding organisations such as VTCT, ITEC and City & Guilds have qualifications that meet the recognised national minimum standard, however the problem is, there are lots of schools cutting corners, and delivering them in much shorter time than is required. This is cause of many headaches for Professional Associations (decent ones anyway) and the regulator. If you check on the VTCT website you will see that the guided learning hours (thats in class with a tutor), is 141, which is way off what that school is delivering in! I believe the minimum number of class hours undertaken to meet the recognised standard is either 80 or 105 (it may have just changed to 105).
Schools and colleges can deliver in less time than that, however it would not meet the minimum standard.
I know that some schools only have one or two students, however, when the requirement to run eg swedish massage is 141, how can you run it in 1 day with the odd assessment, even if there is only two of you? It just doesnt add up. I think there is some leeway, to allow for home study etc, but not 80% of the total hours!
If you are looking at a particular school, first see who issues the award, and then check the awarding organisations site to see what their criteria is (I know this is very easy to find on VTCT and ITEC websites).
If it is a private qualification, see who validates/endorses/accredits the qualification, and go to to the GCMT website (its a .org.uk address) and have a look at the associations listed on there. GCMT is governing body for massage, and holds the recognised national standard. If the association is listed on there, they should be running to national minimum standards, as previously mentioned. If they are not on there, check the regulators website cnhc (again this is a .org.uk address). If they arent listed on either, then I would steer clear, as they probably dont adhere to recognised minimum standards.
You will see that the associations listed on the schools website that you posted, are not GCMT members (and never have been), because quite frankly they will accredit anyone and anything.
Thank you for replying, I have a couple of points to raise from your post...
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportstherapy
I believe the minimum number of class hours undertaken to meet the recognised standard is either 80 or 105 (it may have just changed to 105).
I can't find anything to do with this, so I would be interested to know where this number came from...
Schools and colleges can deliver in less time than that, however it would not meet the minimum standard.
I know that some schools only have one or two students, however, when the requirement to run eg swedish massage is 141, how can you run it in 1 day with the odd assessment, even if there is only two of you? It just doesnt add up. I think there is some leeway, to allow for home study etc, but not 80% of the total hours!
Do you actually know for sure this course is not up to standard/not meeting the minimum standard? Given that much of this course will be A&P and other theory I am not surprised at so many hours being allocated to that, at home. And the 'odd assessment' is several days worth...
If it is a private qualification, see who validates/endorses/accredits the qualification, and go to to the GCMT website (its a .org.uk address) and have a look at the associations listed on there. GCMT is governing body for massage, and holds the recognised national standard. If the association is listed on there, they should be running to national minimum standards, as previously mentioned. If they are not on there, check the regulators website cnhc (again this is a .org.uk address). If they arent listed on either, then I would steer clear, as they probably dont adhere to recognised minimum standards.
You will see that the associations listed on the schools website that you posted, are not GCMT members (and never have been), because quite frankly they will accredit anyone and anything.
There are only 6 schools listed on the GCMT page of schools, I am pretty sure, even with my limited knowledge, that there are a vast number more that are providing perfectly good courses! The act they charge schools £200 p/a to appear on that list is probably why it is so short...
Don't get me wrong, I am really grateful someone is taking the time to reply, I just think there is a huge long list of so called accrediting bodies all of whom have short lists of school they endorse...at least with VTCT this is actually a government body, and I can't believe, (from my personal knowledge of NVQ's) that they would get away with not providing what they have to. I will however be asking the question...thanks again for pointing the 141 hours out to me.
If anyone has actually done this course, I would love to hear how they are doing
There are limited number of schools on the GCMT as you pointed out it costs £200 to list one, as they do have to raise revenue, however that doesn't mean there are only 6 approved schools.
The hours are all on the GCMT website, and it is this organisation that people like VTCT consult with when writing their qualifications. Look under standards and you will find the core curriculum, which is the nationally recognised standard used by awarding organisations.
Yes VTCT are a government approved awarding organisation, which is why they need to look very carefully at their schools and how they are delivering their courses.
Regarding small numbers of schools endorsed by some PAs, this is more to do with keeping standards raised than anything else. I don't think any organisation at GCMT would touch a course like this with a barge pole! Look at the number of courses people like the Guild endorse, and you will see they have so many '1 day practitioner courses' that have been hotly debated on here, and shown to be as far removed from the national standard as you can get.
I still can't understand how anyone can think you can learn massage in a day?
Maybe other massage therapists can have an input here?
Thank you for replying, I have a couple of points to raise from your post...
Don't get me wrong, I am really grateful someone is taking the time to reply, I just think there is a huge long list of so called accrediting bodies all of whom have short lists of school they endorse...at least with VTCT this is actually a government body, and I can't believe, (from my personal knowledge of NVQ's) that they would get away with not providing what they have to. I will however be asking the question...thanks again for pointing the 141 hours out to me.
If anyone has actually done this course, I would love to hear how they are doing
Thanks again xx
VTCT DO NOT POLICE THEIR PUBLISHED STANDARDS, they turn over millions of pounds issuing awards and do not seem that bothered about maintaining standards.
for anyone interested in sending me a PM with your email address I will forward you a list of QCF courses that fail to meet the standards, Ive sent it to SMA, VTCT, and recently the CNHC as evidence that QCF is not a guarantee of occupational cometency,
I think you will find that sportstherapy, runs a successful training company with an International reputation, has been working on standards councils for over 10 years, advised as a consultant on the recently published National Occupational competency Standards (NOS) and therefore appropriately qualified to call this course rubbish, it is also full of blatant untruths , you simply cannot get a practitioner diploma unless you fullfil a minimum number of training hours, which I believe from memory is 370 under the recently introduced 1 unit =10 training hours
Ive worked hard on councils with sportstherapy and others and ive also conttacted DR Steven VIckers of VTCT to raise these issues, he simply ignores the communications,
the bottom line is the course is a disgrace, the training provider is disgraceful in even listing this course, it devalues every other appropriately delivered level 3 CERTIFICATE course that is run under QCF guidelines.
End of............
And to be honest Im not that interested in if Ive offended anyone here, you asked for an opinion, you got an INFORMED , EDUCATED opinion and I doubt that anyones who has done this course will get back to you as they are not likley to be working in this industry.
Im going to email this training provider to tell them that Im reporting them to the Awarding Body and the Regulator
regards
BGFL , formerly of general council of massage therapies, sports therapy and remedial therapy council, CNHC advisor, educational advisor to FE colleges, assessor of students, qualifications writer, and general truth teller
Sorry but I must ditto everything sportstherapy has said
Also with my Ofqual verifier hat on I would be extremely concerned that it appears (from their website) that one member of staff is both an assessor and a verifier (tutor?) for the same course.
If this is the case the centre would be subject to a class 2 / 3 (maybe even 4) sanction when (if?) the V*T* external verifier does their job
However I must stateIF since I do not know if this is the case
If you want to know what SHOULD be included in the course (inc GLH)
OK...I seem to have offended people by even mentioning this courses existence, and for that I am sorry, I simply thought I could get some help by posting here...I had no idea what Sportstherapy's credentials were...yes I asked for opinions, but everyone seems to be jumping on the 'its a one day course therefore it is rubbish' bandwagon, when clearly it is not, I have found these...as well as correspondence courses with no hands on training at all claiming to give me practitioner qualifications! Quite frankly I find this scary, I have dozens of treatments in my time, some better than others, and I had o idea until a couple of weeks ago that there was no ONE governing body that over sees all this, and that I could, without breaking the law call myself a practitioner now!
Forgetting about this course and the evil perpetrators that dare to run it...can I ask...are all VTCT courses thought of this poorly?
Given they 'only' need 141 hours teaching time, but GCMT are looking for 195 minimum and BGFL, you are now saying 370?! As I said before, I looked at this course because it was VTCT and that seems to be a name that many people on here and in other places regard reasonably highly...
I’m not going to get into the debate on qualifications and standards, but I do think 1 day of practical work isn’t going to get you where you need to be. By the time you get home you’ll find you’ve forgotten half of it and the notes that were so clear in class are – well, like Swedish!
I did my training last year, so maybe my experience will help you decide. Having looked at several different options, I decided on a two week intensive course in A&P and Swedish massage. The mornings were A&P theory and the afternoons were massage practical.
We started with a small part of the routine on the first afternoon, then repeated that the following day and added a new part and so on until day 8. On days 9 and 10 we did the entire full body routine. In this way, by the end of the course I had done everything several times, and there was no way I was going to forget it. We used each other as models as well as having people come in, meaning we had a variety of body shapes, sizes and ages – from 19 to 60.
Of course, the real work started after the training, with the assignments, case studies and treatments. I was literally working full time on it for the next two months, but the tutor was always available to answer questions and point you in the right direction. We then had a mock exam and the actual exams, the practical being marked by an ITEC examiner, so I assume she would know the right standard.
I know there will be people on here who’ll say that two weeks isn’t enough, but I consistently get clients coming back and I’ve been able to build up a viable business over the last four months.
The college was in Cirencester, which is just up the road from Swindon, so maybe you want to check it out. PM me if you want to have a more detailed chat.
OK...I seem to have offended people by even mentioning this courses existence, and for that I am sorry, I simply thought I could get some help by posting here...I had no idea what Sportstherapy's credentials were...yes I asked for opinions, but everyone seems to be jumping on the 'its a one day course therefore it is rubbish' bandwagon, when clearly it is not, I have found these...as well as correspondence courses with no hands on training at all claiming to give me practitioner qualifications! Quite frankly I find this scary, I have dozens of treatments in my time, some better than others, and I had o idea until a couple of weeks ago that there was no ONE governing body that over sees all this, and that I could, without breaking the law call myself a practitioner now!
Forgetting about this course and the evil perpetrators that dare to run it...can I ask...are all VTCT courses thought of this poorly?
Given they 'only' need 141 hours teaching time, but GCMT are looking for 195 minimum and BGFL, you are now saying 370?! As I said before, I looked at this course because it was VTCT and that seems to be a name that many people on here and in other places regard reasonably highly...
Sorry for any offence caused...
I don't think you have caused any offence, however, to genuine massage therapists, that go down the right route of training, these courses do us untold damage, which is why it is such an emotive subject.
No, not all VTCT courses are the same, a qualification is only as good as its tutors, however, I stand by what I say, you cannot learn body massage, to enable you to practice on the public, with one days training, regardless of if you have a couple of additional assessments thrown in.
I think the minimum standard is 105 hours, so the VTCT qualification would exceed this, if it delivered correctly. The 370 hours are what you need if you are to class a qualification as a diploma. This has been set by the government, not by anyone else.
You could, as you say, call yourself a massge therapist without training, as yes, there is no law against it, what we do have though is a nationally recognised set of standards, and very good advertising and trading standards laws, so one must be careful of what they claim these days.
No offence here either
This debate has been going on for as long as i can remember
note Despite what is posted on VTCT website it has NOT been in existence for 40 years VTCT started in the mid 90's
Wally Sharpes established VAI 40 years ago which then changed its name to VTCT following some "issues"
I know the temptation is to take the quickest and/or cheapest route to gain a qualification. But as others have said, this is definitely NOT the best way to learn massage (and also the required anatomy & physiology).
Yes, you could do the course and set up practice (or even, as you said, set up without any qualifications). However, you would begin to notice very quickly that your clients were not returning or recommending you to their friends.
There is a need for assimilation in between practical lessons. If your practical lessons take place on the same day then there is not that opportunity for assimilation. You would be doing yourself a great injustice by taking this course.
Massage is a wonderful skill to have. But it's not just as simple as learning a basic "routine" and that's it. There is more to it than that. And maximising your learning will make the difference between a very average (or even incompetent) massage therapist and an exceptional one.
Please do not interpret this, or any of the above posts as "offense'. None of us are offended - we are simply very alarmed - on your behalf, on your potential clients' behalf, and on behalf of anyone else naive enough to sign up for this course.
You were sensible enough to ask for advice here (I can't think of a better place for you to have come). Now the next step is to be sensible enough to take heed of that advice.
Hi Kitten,
you worded that so well, and mirrors my own thoughts.
I would say in 1 day you could cover massage techniques on the back, and maybe neck and shoulders. That wouldnt include consultations, contraindications, aftercare etc, that would just be your foundation massage strokes.
Thanks for your replies last night...as I said before I am new to this, I want to get a good qualification, because I want to be a good practitioner. If that takes time then so be it, if it takes money, then so be it. My worry is spending a lot of time, and a lot of money, (Of which I have limited amounts of each, like most people!!) on something which is actually rubbish...
So...Blackthorn I have PM'd you, as offered, you seem to be doing very well out of your course, and Cirencester is not a million miles from me...thank you x
hi all,
just for the record, I really would like to offend those running these inappropriate one day certificate courses and diplomas, not the valuable contributors to HP.
SO here goes, Stonebridge, BSY, Home learning/study college, SNHS,
IMO your courses are rubbish and do not adequately prepare your students for working in the industry.
Im going to compile links of courses that do not meet QCF, which openly state they do and post them allover the internet to highlight the charlatons
hi all,
just for the record, I really would like to offend those running these inappropriate one day certificate courses and diplomas, not the valuable contributors to HP.
SO here goes, Stonebridge, BSY, Home learning/study college, SNHS,
IMO your courses are rubbish and do not adequately prepare your students for working in the industry.
Im going to compile links of courses that do not meet QCF, which openly state they do and post them allover the internet to highlight the charlatons
regards
BGFL
Very commendable Gary but as we all know until the industry as a whole takes action and agree on .....well anything really then people will continue to sign up to the above courses in the knowledge that they can practice with them and there isnt a single thing that can be done because there is no law preventing it! All those above know that and in hard times why take a course that costs thousands when you can get the same qual for a couple of hundred quid?
Very commendable Gary but as we all know until the industry as a whole takes action and agree on .....well anything really then people will continue to sign up to the above courses in the knowledge that they can practice with them and there isnt a single thing that can be done because there is no law preventing it! All those above know that and in hard times why take a course that costs thousands when you can get the same qual for a couple of hundred quid?
but until we all stand up and be counted, we accept this, so why dont we all write to our PA and voice our concerns instead of burying our heads in the sand hoping it will go away.
dont be afraid to name and shame, its not about the cost of courses its about value for money. and a £200 quid distance learning course is a waste of money for hands on therapies.
Very commendable Gary but as we all know until the industry as a whole takes action and agree on .....well anything really then people will continue to sign up to the above courses in the knowledge that they can practice with them and there isnt a single thing that can be done because there is no law preventing it! All those above know that and in hard times why take a course that costs thousands when you can get the same qual for a couple of hundred quid?
Indeed!
I think it would be more beneficial though for there to be a single list of courses that were recommended rather than those that weren't...(Although a list of the above is useful to some extent - even if it doesn't contain the school or course I was originally looking at).
I have been studying my whole life in many areas, and I have done some courses that have been obviously padded to fill time, obviously over priced for what you actually get etc...as well as others that have been so intense I have left at the end of a session, with my head spinning, (This used to happen every week of my 12 week PTTLS course, until I went away and read through my notes and assimilated the knowledge in my own time!)
And yes in these hard times, why would anyone new to this, (who knows no better), spend thousands for the same piece of paper they can pay a few hundred for? I think the sooner the government starts properly regulating complimentary therapies the better, it would certainly help folks like me out!
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