CIDESCO 

[00:00:00] Darine: Welcome to this week's episode of Beauty Babble. Today we're chatting with Vanessa DeMello, co founder of Beauty Depot and the Aesthetic Institute Training Center, about the SEDESCO Diploma, which is the International Qualification for Aesthetics. I'm sure I'm simplifying it, but Vanessa, you're going to tell us more about that. 

[00:00:16] Darine: Welcome. Thanks again for joining us.  

[00:00:19] Vanessa: Thank you very much for having me.  

[00:00:21] Suzanne: Yeah. So I know with this, when I was excited about this topic, because I know with your, your history that you didn't actually start with Sidesco. So could you walk us through like your start point of, of teaching like the school side of it and educating and how you I just, Took that journey and, and what it took to bring in Sedusco because I understand what that is as well. 

[00:00:45] Vanessa: Yeah, just a really quick history of our business. You know, and this is just fresh in my mind because I, I tell pretty much every student that comes to our school, this our, our history. So we started our business in the year 2000 as a beauty distributor called [00:01:00] Beauty Depot and Beauty Depot specializes in selling everything for the esthetician. 

[00:01:05] Vanessa: And early in our years as a beauty supplier, we started to get asked quite a lot from estheticians if we would ever consider getting into aesthetic training as, as we all know, estheticians are always on a quest for ongoing education and learning. And when we started doing research in our area in the early 2000s, what we noticed was there were primarily a lot of more focused hair schools that were running a diploma program, and they may or may not have had a program in general aesthetics. 

[00:01:41] Vanessa: So, interestingly, even today, that's what we see quite a lot of. What prompted us to, you know, pursue potentially opening a school focusing on aesthetics was that need for, for education for estheticians, both beginner and advanced [00:02:00] training, and my business partner and I actually worked on a business plan for about five years. 

[00:02:06] Vanessa: And then 2009, we opened up our first school, which was the aesthetic Institute. It's. And we knew that our school was going to be different as we wanted to place an emphasis on purely aesthetic training, again, beginner and advanced. And we really wanted to do things the right way, which is why we became an accredited school and went through, you know, the process of getting our programs accredited. 

[00:02:33] Vanessa: And to really ensure that we're doing things the right way in Canada and to, to, to ensure that we have. You know, diploma programs that are recognized for our students and that have credentials behind it. So that's how we started in 2009. And actually, our very first programs were developed with by us with specialists. 

[00:02:56] Vanessa: So we had hired who still are on our team today, [00:03:00] but we had quite an eclectic team of very experienced estheticians that helped us educators, I should say, that helped us develop curriculums for two programs. One of which was our part time modular program called the full aesthetic program that we still run today with a monthly intake. 

[00:03:19] Vanessa: That is a general esthetician program with 14 modalities, and it's done over about eight months. And then we also developed our advanced clinical esthetician program back in 2009. That looks much different today than it did back then. Of course with clinical aesthetics, it has changed tremendously, you know, due to advancements in technologies and medical treatments. 

[00:03:44] Vanessa: So that, that is also a monthly program that we run still at our school today. However, we wanted to do something a little bit different and we still felt like we needed to kind of branch [00:04:00] off in a different direction that would provide. A more distinguished credential for our students and really separate us as a player in the education division. 

[00:04:12] Vanessa: And so what we did was we, we had reached out to doing our research. We had reached out to ESCO in 2015. So Esco stands, I'm not French, but it's the abbreviation is comite International is Cosmetology, which is the International Committee of Aesthetics and Cosmetology. And Sesco was established 75 years ago in Belgium, and today their head office is in Switzerland. 

[00:04:40] Vanessa: And around the world, there's about 33 countries that represent Sidesco. So, Sidesco, what they're known for is an international accredited program in beauty therapy. And this was what was appealing to us because we thought, you know, it's important to be able to offer students a [00:05:00] distinguishing credential that will not only provide them, you know, with a diploma, And it's actually in over 20 services they learn in aesthetics over nine months, and it's 1300 hours. 

[00:05:13] Vanessa: But not only will that distinguish them in Canada, but it allows them to work internationally as an esthetician, and it is the world standard and benchmark. For not only the school, but for an esthetician. And this is why we decided we wanted to apply because we thought, you know, we need to do something different. 

[00:05:37] Vanessa: We don't just want to be an average school. We want to be able to offer our students something that will will distinguish them and differentiate them. So that's how we got started. Now to become a sedesco school took us almost two years to get approved because. Honestly, we had to move from our existing location to a brand new building in [00:06:00] 2017 with two floors. 

[00:06:02] Vanessa: And Sadesco is very particular on how the school is set up, the equipment we need, how our stations are set up, very particular about the instructors that are teaching, their credentials. And and so much more. So it was a big investment for us as a school to to even, you know, pursue doing this, but we thought it was worth it. 

[00:06:26] Vanessa: We took that risk. And my goodness, is that ever paid off for us. So I know that's a lot of information I've given you, but that's the background.  

[00:06:37] Suzanne: And when it, when it came to you, you had made a comment about Sadesco's very particular school itself. Is there a couple things you can share? Like, what is it that differentiates them to maybe some of, I mean, you have had the other school situation and you made a comment, you had to move. 

[00:06:54] Suzanne: You recognize that it, there was definitely a different expectation, I guess you could say on that [00:07:00] business front of the representing Sadesco itself.  

[00:07:03] Vanessa: Yeah, I mean, there's so many different aspects, like in terms of the curriculum themselves, like the curriculum that we have to teach we'll talk about that first and then I can just tell you a few more specifics on, you know, infrastructure and such. 

[00:07:16] Vanessa: But the curriculum is equivalent to about a second year science based university academic program. So this is for an esthetician who is very serious about their career. And Who is willing to essentially become a university student post secondary for nine months. They're living, they're breathing, and they're sleeping this program for nine months. 

[00:07:42] Vanessa: So in terms of what we had to do was we have the most tremendous instructor who's still with us. Her name is Meredith Thompson. She helped us really overhaul the whole curriculum and you know, our, our programs that we're offering on all four fronts, whether you're in our part time program [00:08:00] or you're in Sidesco, we're very proud of them. 

[00:08:02] Vanessa: But Sidesco goes a lot more in depth in the science. So there was a lot of work and time that was put into developing very comprehensive curriculums that are science based and academic. Our job as a school is essentially to prepare our students for this 10 hour international practical exam where an international examiner comes to our school and the students have to showcase approximately 13 or 14 skills to that international examiner over a 10 hour period. 

[00:08:34] Vanessa: So it is something that, you know, as a school, we have to find the right people who are qualified to teach these students who are on board with upholding the high standard of Sidesco. So what we really see with our students, which is beautiful, is a metamorphosis of change in their professional and their personal development. 

[00:08:55] Vanessa: And, and their confidence that grows throughout this program to the [00:09:00] way the program is designed is to take them through these nine months full time, learning over 20 subjects, and really learning detailed heavy science of what an esthetician should know in our industry, and it challenges them there's over 25 exams that these students have to take. 

[00:09:19] Vanessa: And sometimes I think when I'm interviewing students for this because we do a 90 minute to two hour interview and presentation on this program to every applicant. And, you know, I'll tell you, we have a wait list every single year of students that want to get in, but sometimes I think, God, I'm scaring these students because I would be kind of scared to register for a program like this. 

[00:09:42] Vanessa: But you know what is it's exciting for me and our team just to, to see that there are so many people that want the best for themselves. And that comes through in that interview. You see a lot of younger students coming in, but I actually see quite a few students that are doing career [00:10:00] changes in their lives. 

[00:10:01] Vanessa: And some that really wanted to be an esthetician or in the early days, but maybe they weren't supported by their family. And Perhaps there was a stereotype that this wasn't an industry that was going to challenge them academically, which we just know is not true. So I see a lot of individuals doing this later in their careers in their thirties, forties and fifties actually. 

[00:10:22] Vanessa: So, so that's one way that it's distinguished, but again, like as the school, as I said earlier we really had to invest a lot in the infrastructure of how our classrooms are set up and all the equipment and technology that we have to have. And you know, just the way the facility is developed to meet that Sidesco standard, so. 

[00:10:42] Suzanne: And you had mentioned it was what, did, did I miss, I'm not sure, how long was that process when you finally discovered, yes, this is the path I want to do, and then the actual fact that it, It went through and happened. You had your business plan, you did it all, and then was accepted with Sadesco as a representation of that. 

[00:10:59] Suzanne: Yeah, [00:11:00]  

[00:11:00] Vanessa: that's a good question. So the first aspect of that was about a year, but then actually, Sadesco has you as a school in training for about another year, and it's not until you go through, and even for us, it was scary, right, the first time in business. Excuse me. An international examiner came to our school. 

[00:11:17] Vanessa: We were like, are they going to think that we're good? Like, does our, is our school up to that international standard? Because it's in 33 countries around the world. So they were very impressed with everything. And, you know, again, I think it's, it's just the integrity behind what we're doing and that we are rural followers. 

[00:11:35] Vanessa: We're not a school that's cutting corners. And I think that if anything, I think we go way over and beyond. We really scrutinize things that we do at our school, and we're always looking to, you know, to, to ensure that we're up to date and current and that we're providing our students the best experience. 

[00:11:52] Vanessa: So we were fortunate after our first Sidesco exam is when we were essentially approved as a Sidesco [00:12:00] school, because they were they were really quite pleased with how we represented Sidesco, especially in Canada.  

[00:12:06] Suzanne: And then you and Sylvia were together. Yeah. Yay. We did it. Yeah. That's, I know it's, it's a huge process. 

[00:12:14] Suzanne: I went through that many years ago as well. And one of the reasons, well, it was two reasons why I took it, but personal reasons and also that, but yeah, I understand that that exam is hard. It's hard. Yeah. It's incredible. And I think for For people to not understand, like you said, it's like a two year post secondary. 

[00:12:34] Suzanne: I remember I was in Vancouver at the time. It was the only school that actually had in, in Western Canada at the time. And I was studying for the body treatment. My cousin was doing kinesiology just to give people perspective. And I was studying some of the things that he was studying in his second year of kinesiology. 

[00:12:52] Suzanne: And he goes, why do you have to learn all this? And  

[00:12:55] Vanessa: Because we do.  

[00:12:56] Suzanne: They make us.  

[00:12:58] Vanessa: Right. It's [00:13:00] great. And you know, here's the thing. So why, why would you want to be a Sidesco graduate and to hold this diploma? It is like, as I said, it's the world benchmark, but when you're looking, if you think about it, when you're looking at working in a spa, perhaps your goal is to work in a resort spa in another, country or even in Canada, you know, Europe, those spas are appealing to a traveler and a person who maybe they're from the UK or they're from Italy or they're from Australia or Japan. 

[00:13:33] Vanessa: And they're used to when you're paying 200 or 250 for a facial, they're a discerning client who's looking for a certain level and standard of a treatment. This program assures That the candidate or, you know, the graduate understands not only the theory behind what they're doing, but that they can also think outside the steps of doing a treatment, they're able to customize a [00:14:00] treatment, they are able to understand the why behind what they're doing. 

[00:14:05] Vanessa: They're able to pick up a bottle of, you know, a serum or a cleanser and look at the ingredients and understand what those ingredients do and why. And make product recommendations for their clients. So this is why our students, honestly, we have to report to the government every year on our students success with finding employment within a year. 

[00:14:29] Vanessa: And last year it was 95 percent of the students within a year had full time employment. So that's wonderful. And another stat that's interesting is approximately 70 percent of our students get hired before their final examination. They're in huge demand. And currently we, we have a wait list for our next intake. 

[00:14:48] Vanessa: I literally have people begging me to get them in and I can't write because I can only take 20 students in this program. So it does give me faith that there is a lot of people in this [00:15:00] industry that understand. That to have a program that is comprehensive. And thorough and is not a quick path to getting a certificate. 

[00:15:11] Vanessa: That that is important to them. And I think for a while there in our industry, it was a little bit scary seeing that there's just a lot of places that are just offering these quick promises and diplomas, which are not even accredited to individuals, you know, and we can we all know we can hurt people, we're doing treatments that you can cause harm. 

[00:15:34] Vanessa: And if you don't understand what you're doing That's, that's a big problem. So, 

[00:15:41] Suzanne: yes, it's it is quite the journey, isn't it? How often, how often do you do it, this program in a year,  

[00:15:48] Vanessa: in a calendar year. So we now do it, the program that we run, it's, it's nine months. So some schools do it over two years, but they spread it out. We do it over nine months. [00:16:00] It's a 1300 hour program. So beauty therapy is always been. 

[00:16:04] Vanessa: Well, it's 1200 hours, actually, but we build in an extra 100 hours. So it's exactly every nine months. We have an intake at the school and the name of the program. It's the Sadesco Beauty Therapy program. So they will receive their final diploma. From from Switzerland, and then they also receive a diploma from from us to anesthetics. 

[00:16:25] Vanessa: But again, you know, I've had, like you said, we've had actually nurses who have taken this program and have shared with us that some of the subjects are harder than they've learned in nursing. So it is the real deal. But you know what, it's not necessarily for everyone, either. Because you do need to have the time to commit to those nine months. 

[00:16:48] Vanessa: And then beyond the full time studies. You have to be studying in the evenings and on the weekends because you'll be tested about every other week in a subject, whether it's [00:17:00] theoretical or practical. So it hasn't changed. No, it hasn't changed. It hasn't changed. But you know, some people still don't know what Sadesco is. 

[00:17:10] Vanessa: And, and that's why I think it's important that we do. Raise some awareness about this really distinguishing credential and just to understand that it's not that other programs are not good programs. I mean, I truly we offer, as I said, we have our full aesthetic program, which is a part time modular accredited program in Canada, and it's a wonderful program. 

[00:17:34] Vanessa: We still do it over eight months. Right. And it's just one subject at a time. The main difference is it's designed for more flexibility for the student. And they, they have to do some of their practical quotas on their own. So there's also some of the theory is done more hybrid online, but there's always practical tests on every subject and theoretical tests on every subject.[00:18:00]  

[00:18:00] Vanessa: So again, I, I'm not here to say that Sidesco is the only way there's, providing that you find, you know, a school, I, I would say my biggest advice is make sure that you do your research. And, and really speak to other students, ideally, who have gone there, and make sure that, you know, those references are legitimate, that you're not necessarily just looking at a Google review, because sometimes Google reviews can be purchased, and they're not even real. 

[00:18:28] Vanessa: So, I think that's important too.  

[00:18:30] Suzanne: How many schools are  

[00:18:32] Vanessa: Sidesco in Canada? There's four. So, there's three of them in the east, and then we're the only school in the west. And you know, I'm actually on the board for Sadesco Canada as well, which is we have a non profit organization called the Canadian Aesthetic and Spa Association, which is CESA C E S A, Canada dot C A. 

[00:18:56] Vanessa: And, again, the, you know, the goal is that we are seeing [00:19:00] more and more interest of schools. That are wanting to become Sidesco schools, which I think is, is really great. And we're not all about just being the only Sidesco school. We want there to be more Sidesco schools out there to provide this opportunity to their students and their, their graduates. 

[00:19:17] Vanessa: So,  

[00:19:19] Darine: that's interesting. With the Sidesco program, it's, it seems very, just from what you've said, like very heavily focused on the science, the theory. Is there any component in the program about, Maybe, you know, business what is it called? Business development or marketing or anything like that? Or is that separate? 

[00:19:40] Vanessa: That's separate. And I'm so glad you asked that because right before you said that, I'm like, I have to tell them about the other program. That's so important. And so there's a little bit that's covered on business skills, more on direct business skills, like the beauty therapy program. There's a lot of interaction with clients who are. 

[00:19:57] Vanessa: regularly coming in to receive [00:20:00] treatments from the students. So they do learn some spa management, you know, working with a professional spa management system. And they do learn some retailing and certainly their customer service skills are really important. But In a program like that it's difficult to really provide the level of management training. 

[00:20:20] Vanessa: So what Sidesco developed in 2019, that is, it's an incredible program. I, I'm really passionate about it as well. It's called the Sadesco Beauty and Spa Management Diploma, which is a four month business program. And it really, I have my business degree too from U of C. And when I look at the syllabus and the list of categories of subjects that our students are learning, it's equivalent to about a first year business degree academic program. 

[00:20:55] Vanessa: And it's an intensive program that's 320 [00:21:00] hours, and it's done over four months. And this program, actually, we have students all over the world taking it because we've been able to move it to an online platform within our, it's called Moodle, is the system that we use. And every week, every Tuesday, there's a live instructor candidate check in with our lead educator, Meredith Thompson, and our students. 

[00:21:24] Vanessa: Which allows us to offer this program to students all over the world. And the idea behind this program, it's really designed for someone who is either considering spa management or running their own business. Whether it's a spa salon or medical spot or maybe or a nail technician or makeup artist. So it's a tremendous program because the students are taken through 16 weeks of lectures and weekly assignments. 

[00:21:55] Vanessa: That are, are really covering business and spa management completely related [00:22:00] to our industry. But the beauty of the program is. At the end of this program, the final assignment is a business plan to launch their own business. So this is such an important skill that and an actual you know, assignment that most people would never do or know how to create a business plan without hiring someone. 

[00:22:25] Vanessa: It, you know, when I tell people about this, it's just like the excitement that I hear even from other beauty professionals in our industry is they're like, thank you, Vanessa, for bringing this and for offering this at the school. This is what is needed. And I completely agree. And sadly, over 24 years, you know, of running our business, we've certainly seen students not succeed or graduates not succeed in their businesses because they didn't have that roadmap to success. 

[00:22:53] Vanessa: So I always say to our students, if you are considering down the road, opening your own business, [00:23:00] To me, this program is as integral as your actual credential as an esthetician, if you plan to run your own business. And you know, I, I, what makes me the most happy is the testimonials we've received, not only from a, you know, new, new business owners, but from business owners who have ran their salons or spas for many, many years, and then they've taken this program afterwards. 

[00:23:26] Vanessa: And we've purposely priced it really affordable too. A lot of people are like, why are you pricing this for so low? So it's, it's 34, 3, 495 for this four month program. We've priced it affordable because we want as many people to take it as possible. And, you know, even the exam fee for us, there's not a huge, a huge profit that the school is making on this program. 

[00:23:51] Vanessa: But we do it because we, for ethically, we feel like it's the right program. So we're, we're super excited and we've had hundreds of students do it. I think three, [00:24:00] three to 400 students have taken it since 2019.  

[00:24:03] Darine: Wow. It's exciting. Yeah. Do you also have some kind of mentorship program after students have graduated, whether it's in your SEDESCO program or your other programs? 

[00:24:16] Vanessa: Yeah, so not necessarily a mentorship program, but what I will tell you is right on our website, we have a full separate tab called career postings and job opportunities. And about once a week we receive a job posting from a local salon or spa, who's quite eager to hire graduates of our school. And currently I was just doing a tour yesterday, there's about 90 pages of postings. 

[00:24:42] Vanessa: For salons and spas who've reached out to us who want to hire our graduates. And I think that in itself is, you know, it is essentially a mentorship program, because yes, these are job opportunities, but they're into, excuse me, there's individuals who run their spas who trust our graduates [00:25:00] and trust what we're doing. 

[00:25:01] Vanessa: And I think that's a big reason to why our job success rate is so high. But beyond that, And another thing we're really proud of is the educators we have on our team very much stay connected to our grads. So if anything, I'll say the mentors are our team that once you leave, you know, if a student just came in the other day and she's like, Vanessa, thank you for allowing me to come back after two years to review my advanced laser class. 

[00:25:32] Vanessa: And I said, well, of course, like, if you haven't done it, come in, it's no problem. Right. So. We're there. I mean, we care about people. It's, we're not just here to take your money and we don't care what happens to you. We want to see you be successful. And, you know, we stay very connected to our, our graduates and our students because we own Beauty Depot as well. 

[00:25:51] Vanessa: And they're constantly coming in and they're shopping with us and, you know, taking new classes or learning about new products. So we've really, I [00:26:00] think, created a very nice community and sort of family for our, our graduates.  

[00:26:06] Suzanne: Nice. Yeah. Well, I guess before we end, is there anything else you would like to share or you have a famous quote you want to share? 

[00:26:16] Suzanne: I'm just teasing.  

[00:26:17] Vanessa: Yeah, I do. I say this to all of our graduates. Yes. If it, this is my quote, if it was If it was, hold on, let me think about this for a second, hold on.  

[00:26:28] Suzanne: Put you under pressure, sorry. 

[00:26:34] Vanessa: I think it's from, it's from a baseball movie, a baseball movie. And I actually have this, Sylvia and I have this in our office. If it was easy, everyone would do it. It is the hard that makes it great. That's the quote. And that's what I say to our, our students is that it's not meant to be easy if this is meant to challenge you and to make you feel really proud that you've done something superb for yourself and [00:27:00] that you've had to push yourself out of your comfort zone. 

[00:27:02] Vanessa: If it was easy, everyone would do it. And it is the heart that makes it great. So, I think that I love that quote. To me, that's how life should be. And it's, it's, a heart doesn't always have to be a hustle and a struggle. It's just about pushing ourselves to be the best that we can. That's all. So.  

[00:27:21] Suzanne: That's my quote. 

[00:27:23] Suzanne: That's a great way to end. Well, thank you so much for joining us on this and sharing the educational side and the opportunities that are out there for professionals around the world, even.  

[00:27:35] Vanessa: Thank you very much. I feel like I did a lot of talking, but. There's passion behind it all. So it comes from just a place of still, I think, I guess that's a good thing after all these years, I still love what I do and, and that we're not ready to throw in the towel yet. 

[00:27:50] Vanessa: So, but thank you very much for having me. It's great what you're doing as well for the industry and just creating a, you know, a safe space for people to come on and [00:28:00] talk and, and be open and honest and share ideas. So I appreciate you having me here.  

[00:28:06] Darine: Thank you. Thank you so much.  

[00:28:08] Vanessa: You're welcome