Five minutes with…Riley Waldron

Riley Waldron will be competing in Beauty Therapy at the National Championships after participating in the Shepparton regional competition. Riley shares that her experience with the competition so far has provided many opportunities for growth. Even travelling to Sydney for the Championships will be providing Riley with new experiences, “I have never been to Sydney, or on a plane,” Riley explains.

Commenting on her experiences so far, Riley shares “My experience at the regional Shepparton Beauty Therapy competition was so much fun and was something I’ve never done before. It was such an awesome experience and challenging, which was a good thing!

The experience made me more confident in myself and performing treatments and was an overall fun day, and I would do it again if I get the opportunity. I even got a job out of the competition, as one of the judges owned a spa and was super impressed with me and wanted to hire me! I’m currently not working there, but was a great experience and I feel super honoured and proud that she was impressed with what I could do and made me feel more confident in what I can do.”

Set to graduate with a diploma in Beauty Therapy from TAFE Shepparton in early May; Riley discovered the world of Beauty Therapy and its many career options at High School. “What influenced me to do Beauty Therapy was when I first started to play with makeup and painting my nails in High School. I heard that I could do a beauty course during school through VET, so I started studying in Year 10 my Certificate III in Beauty Services and I found out beauty wasn’t just painting nails and doing makeup. It included waxing and massages as well as learning about the human body and even atoms but that didn’t stop me!” she explains. Riley explains that the course at TAFE has only furthered her love for Beauty Therapy and is a testament to the teaching staff; “completing this TAFE course has taught me so much and made my love for Beauty Therapy grow even more and its thanks to my awesome Beauty teachers; Vicky, Sonia and Teagan.”

Riley hopes to pursue a career in the beauty industry and is focused on developing her knowledge through employment and further specialisation courses, such as; special effects makeup, microdermabrasion and lash lifts. Riley has a keen interest to study skin care and hopes to continue studying in the future to become a skin specialist. Her ultimate beauty career goal is to become a professional makeup artist, ideally in the television, fashion runway or wedding sector.

More than 700 VET qualifications are subsidised under the NSW Government’s Smart and Skilled program – including many in the social and personal services sector. Find out more at VET.nsw.gov.au #VETopensdoors