Here at City Gateway we are always looking for ways to encourage the people of Tower Hamlets to learn new skills and find pathways to employment. This year we have started running a course in Beauty Therapy at City Gateway Women’s Project.

In Tower Hamlets 41.2% of women are economically inactive and face multiple barriers to employment. City Gateway Women’s Project exists to help the women of Tower Hamlets overcome some of these barriers so they can progress to the world of work. We run a number of courses to achieve these aims, from ESOL and numeracy, to a Leadership Academy and IT apprenticeships.

Our latest course is in Beauty Therapy; enabling women to learn beauty skills such as massage, eyebrow threading and manicure treatments, as well as customer service and functional skills. The women will also get the opportunity to put their knowledge into action through our apprenticeship programme and gain skills which can be applied in a wide variety of contexts both domestically and in the workplace. At the same time the local community also benefit from beauty treatments at affordable prices.

Although the full-time apprenticeship will start in the New Year and women at the project are currently completing their pre-apprenticeship course, gaining the skills and qualifications they need to progress onto the apprenticeship. One participant said, ‘Whilst I could do lots of courses to gain Customer Service qualifications, I’m really excited about the beauty course at City Gateway because beauty is my passion. It’s even better knowing my daughter is safe in the crèche while I learn’.

The course leaders, qualified Beauty Therapist, Vera, and beauty enthusiast, Margareet, are also really excited by all the opportunities to collaborate with community in Tower Hamlets. Margareet said, ‘Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, cultures and backgrounds and we are extremely excited to bring beauty in a new form, to Tower Hamlets’. Vera also commented on the impact the course will have to empower women and increase their independence; ‘This course is about more than teaching Beauty Therapy, it is about giving women back their confidence’.

If you want to be a part of this transformative work with women in Tower Hamlets, why not consider sponsoring a course or some course materials? The Beauty Gateway therapists are also available to you; providing massage, manicure and other treatments for weddings, parties and other occasions. For more information or to get involved click here.