Making his own mark on beauty

If beauty is all in the eye of the beholder, then there’s certainly a lot of it – and colour – in the very vibrant and bright future of Fraser Coast’s newest professionally qualified beauty therapist, Jesse Murphy.

As TAFE Queensland East Coast region’s only male student in Hervey Bay to date to have completed the SHB50121 Diploma of Beauty Therapy course, 26 year-old Jesse is feeling pretty confident about his upcoming career prospects in what is a growing and high-demand industry.

With a full-time job already potentially lined up with a local day spa, Jesse is undoubtedly proud of his trailblazing achievement and excited about showing his talent to not only the Fraser Coast community but also further abroad.

“I’ve always wanted to get into makeup as I had been doing costume makeup for events, parties and gigs so I thought it made sense to take the next step and become professionally qualified as a beauty therapist, “ Jesse said.

“And it made sense to go with TAFE Queensland because the course has been fantastic with its very practical approach, hands-on training and engaging work.”

One of the highlights of doing the Diploma of Beauty Therapy course for Jesse has been the teachers.

“A big part of why I enjoyed the course so much was because of the amazing teachers who I worked with – they’re so supportive and knowledgeable,” he said.

“Not only do they have a great deal of industry experience but were also passionate about covering all the groundwork in the beauty industry which sets us up really well in terms of preparing us for what’s involved in the everyday, real world of this industry.

So impressed was Mineral Earth, a local day spa, by Jesse’s training and talent that even before he completed his TAFE Queensland course, he was offered a job there.

In celebration of his good fortune and success, Jesse is eager to encourage others to consider pursuing a career in the beauty industry especially given the many other industries in which students can apply their skills, such as retail, healthcare and social assistance.

“I would definitely recommend this course as it’s a great starting point career-wise, and it gives you a taste of potentially everything that’s involved in the industry,” Jesse said.

According to the most current Labour Market Insights data, Queensland has the third highest share of jobs in the beauty therapy industry in Australia.

Nationally, the number of jobs in the industry is expected to grow to 42,400 by 2026 which represents an increase of 12.2% from 37,800 jobs in 2021.

Lacie Green and Marianne Green, both Teachers of Beauty, at TAFE Queensland East Coast’s Hervey Bay campus, are immensely proud of Jesse’s outstanding achievement.

"We are really excited and couldn’t be happier for Jesse, particularly as he’s our first male student to complete the Diploma of Beauty Therapy course in Hervey Bay – from day one, he’s been a joy to work with,” Lacie and Marianne said.

“Jesse really impacted the class dynamic in the most positive way and it’s been wonderful to watch his transitioning to a qualified beauty therapist over the last 12 months.”

To find out how you can also pursue a career in the exciting beauty industry, visit tafeqld.edu.au or call 1300 308 233 for more information and let TAFE Queensland help you define your greatness.