Privately owned UK hotel group Macdonald Hotels has partnered with Cheshire, England-based The International School of Beauty Therapy to create a training program and apprenticeship for employees at 21 of its properties.

Louise Leach, founder of the beauty school, has worked closely with Jeanette Jones, managing director of leisure and spa at Macdonald Hotels, to create “The Macdonald Way,” a customised training program for the hotel group.

“The Macdonald Way will be the bible for this partnership, and it will be written as we deliver,” said Leach. “It will comprise standardised practices which all hotels can use as a reference guide, from how the therapist beds should be set up, to the uniform rules which need to be abided by. After the first 12-month period, Macdonald Hotels will then have an in-place program for the next cohort of apprentices.”

The training program is designed to be used as a complete staff training programme for Macdonald spas, both for for new apprentices and to up-skill and empower existing staff and create team-building and staff loyalty, the company said, as well as to achieve standardisation across all spas.

The International School of Beauty Therapy will provide onsite training at each spa, in addition to outside support through an intranet site dedicated to the partnership, which the company said will encourage a blended learning system and open forum where in-depth help is provided.

The partnership has two levels, the first of which focuses on facials, manicures and spa host training, which is then followed by body massage techniques and blended oils. Following successful completion, the program will then provide a progression course that empowers employees to engage with a pathway for progression within the company.

“The International School of Beauty Therapy is an academy which gives the right skills to the right people,” said Jones. “...For us, this is an investment in our spa guests, our teams and our hotels.”