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8PROBLEMS OF QUALIFIED PERSONNEL TRAINING IN SPA INDUSTRY
Abstract
The paper deals with the problem of qualified personnel lack in the sphere of Spa industry. The author reviews the existing educational programs in this sphere; justifies the need in development of specialized bachelor and magistracy programs for personnel training in Spa industry. Implementation of system training for Spa industry will allow to establish the general requirements to professional knowledge and competences of workers of all levels; to increase quality of Spa services; to develop production schedules in the industry; to enter professional standards regulating skill level of Spa personnel; to develop programs of personnel certification to confirm compliance of preparation level to the established requirements in the professional standard. Development and approval of the standard of the profession will allow Spa experts to take legal and official position in the Russian labor market.
Keywords
Spa industry, Spa complex, personnel training in Spa industry
AUTHOR
Olga Nikitina
PhD in Economics, Professor Department of Arrangement and Management of Sanatorium Activity St. Petersburg State Economic University St. Petersburg, Russia maol@rambler.ru
The Spa industry represents dynamically developing branch with the great services demand even during the crisis period. In spite of it, quality of provided services in Russian Spa industry objects does not meet clients' expectation (Nikitina, Vorontsova, 2014).
Modern consumers of Spa services demand quality technology and safety both for the service, and the provided attendance.
However, there are no standards regulating the majority of Spa procedures and carrying out technologies in the Russian Federation.
The existing standards do not regulate sanitary-hygienic norms and requirements to functional zones and other rooms for Spa procedures.
The only standard in national system of GOST P "Services to the population. Spa services. The general requirements" existing in this field was accepted in 2012. It establishes the general requirements to Spa services, requirements to safety of these services for life and health of consumers, safety of their property and environmental protection. It extends on organizations and enterprises (irrespectively of their organizational and legal form), on individual entrepreneurs rendering Spa services in a Spa salons, Spa centers in hotels and cruises (Atlas of new professions, 2014).
In spite of the fact that the majority of technologies, equipment and methods in modern Spa industry is represented by physiotherapeutic and balneological methods of treatment, they are still referred to the section 'Household Services' that does not demand licensing medical services. Today there is no uniform classification of Spa and wellness objects in the Russian practice, there are no production schedules of rendering these services. It will complicate carrying out licensing and accreditation of these objects in the near future (since 01 /01 /2015 these kinds of activity should be licensed).
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Despite of the good professional level of the Russian medical personnel, the majority of the 'retraining for a new profession' physicians has no elementary skills of service. For example, with change of technologies, use of new practices of work and new inquiries of consumers, published 'Atlas of new professions' developed on 30-year prospect contains new professions in the sphere:
1. Molecular nutritionist,
2. Designer of medical institutions life,
3. Expert of the personified medicine,
4. Consultant for a healthy old age,
5. Network doctor (Atlas of new professions, 2014).
New professions will appear in the Spa segment (such, as Spa concierge, Spa coordinator, Spa-couch) and demand additional professional knowledge in the field of management and marketing on formation service packages, hospitality packages and existence of considerable communicative competences in the sphere of improving medicine, balneology and hospitality.
Relationship doctor-patient essentially differ from the accepted Spa etiquette since Spa is an individual service of the highest level, and the personnel trained to provide medical services in traditional understanding, is not ready to render individual service and Spa etiquette.
Most of experts come to the domestic sphere of Spa from others adjacent spheres and sometimes from very remote areas. All their knowledge and abilities are acquired by means of short-term trainings, self-education or own experience.
Till recently, employers arranged such state of affairs, since they also have no professional education in this sphere. However, globalization of this market of services, emergence of new technologies, increasing demand for Spa services both in the world, and on the national market of Spa services demand cardinal change of the existing 'self -educational' approach to formation of the domestic Spa services industry.
The Russian higher educational institutions do not conduct training of Spa and wellness personnel. However, since 2012 some higher educational institutions realize bachelor program with "the Hotel Business" profile: sanatorium activity and Spa industry. Programs of the specialization are generally directed on preparation of the linear personnel and functional middle managers of hotels, Spa and wellness hotels, sanatoria, boarding houses, etc.
Courses and programs of professional development of Spa and wellness direction, offered on a constant basis, are intended for heads of Spa salons. Besides, there are various short-term courses for cosmetologists, massage therapists, hairdressers (Top training; TsNTI "Progress" St. Petersburg; City Business School; Universal Wellness Training).
Remote on-line courses and webinars are rather popular. They represent training of specialized skills of management of beauty shops, SPA salons, wellness-centers, and clubs. First, these programs are interesting to experts-heads since training more reminds exchange of experience when each listener of webinar imparts own experience with colleagues. In addition, such courses help to find a mentor (tutor), who can help the beginners in saloon business (Esthete Consulting).
Thus, the existing courses of specializations, professional development, remote courses are directed on heads, who already have own business or on managers of the existing enterprises for rendering services in the industries of beauty, esthetic cosmetology, Spa and wellness and massage salons.
The main lack of these programs is teaching highly specialized courses on separate activities without system approach to training in this area.
Within the specialized Russian portal 'Magistracy' (Magistratura.su) we carried out the analysis of the master programs for Spa industry training.
The search results can be formulated as follows.
The main directions of magistracy preparation are:
• 'Tourism',
• 'Hotel business',
• 'Economics',
• 'Management',
• 'Service'.
There are specialized master programs of preparation for tourism and recreation sphere in these directions.
As a rule, Master programs of 'Tourism' direction include the considerable volume of information-analytical, administrative, recreational-geographical and technological disciplines reflecting various branch aspects of tourist business.
Programs of 'Hotel Business' magistracy are balanced and consider the international aspects of network hotel business, use the considerable volume of the technological disciplines reflecting branch aspects of hotel business development.
Master programs of 'Economy' direction with specialization in tourism and recreation include the considerable volume of economic and administrative disciplines and disciplines reflecting branch technological aspects of tourist business.
In master programs of 'Management' direction with specialization in tourism and recreation, the prevailing role plays the block of special economic-administrative disciplines. Programs provide fundamental preparation in the field of management, have disciplines of branch orientation and are focused on technologies of conducting electronic business in tourism, hotel and restaurant segments.
Master programs of 'Service' direction are focused on profile part of training on diagnostics and examination of systems and models of quality at the enterprises without studying branch orientation and features of the enterprises of various fields of activity.
The master programs investigated by us are functionally specialized providing labor market with qualified specialists of the corresponding profile.
However, any master program does not consider activity specifics or any aspects of development of Spa industry, wellness, improving rest or sanatorium activity.
Thus, training of specialists (bachelors and masters) with fundamental administrative preparation and wide interdisciplinary erudition in this sphere, skills of analytical and scientific work is actual and extra necessary for the domestic industry of Spa, wellness and improving rest,.
In the conditions of enormous break of medical technologies, new tendencies, concepts and models of business enriched Spa industry (both world and domestic) in the recent years.
Steady demand for Spa and wellness services is observed around the world. This activity is provided with impressive number of companies with various profile having a straight line or the connected sphere of business hotel, sanatorium, medical, travel, restaurant, leisure, cosmetology agencies, producers of fitness and medical equipment, etc.
Therefore, we believe that today it is necessary to develop specialized bachelor and magistracy programs for purposeful preparation of the personnel for domestic Spa industry that will allow to solve the following problems:
• introduction of the professional standards regulating skill level of Spa industry personnel;
• approval of the standard of a profession (it will allow Spa experts to take legal and official position on the Russian labor market);
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• development of programs of certification of Spa industry personnel to confirm compliance of preparation level, professional knowledge, skills and experience of experts to the established requirements.
REFERENCES
1. Atlas of new professions (2014), Agency of strategic initiatives, Skolkovo, First edition, Moscow, 165 P.
2. GOST P 55321-2012. Services to the population. SPA service. General requirements.
3. Magistratura.su, from http://magistratura .su/
4. Nikitina, O. A. & Vorontsova, G. G. (2014) "Diversification of sanatorium activity and feature of development of Spa segment in the industry of hospitality", Basic researches, No. 8-3, pp. 693-696.
5. Top training (TopTrening.ru), from http://www .toptrening.ru/trainings/10238/
6. TsNTI "Progress" St. Petersburg, from /http://www.cntiprogress.ru/seminarsforcolumn/25260.aspx
7. Esthete Consulting, from http://www .estetik-consulting.ru/training/course1/
8. City Business School, from http://e-mba .ru/
9. Universal Wellness Training (Moscow), from http://www.uwtc.ru/
INTERACTION OF REGIONAL BANKS AND BUSINESS SECTOR AS A FACTOR OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SAMARA REGION
Abstract
Development of the banking sector of the Russian Federation faces a large number of problems: operations of the regulator, shown in revocation of licenses and increase of a key rate, restriction of external loans, decrease in trust of the population. In these conditions, development of regional banks has to be carried out on the way of their active interaction with a business sector by means of active participation of the regional authorities. Use of mechanisms of subsidizing of the interest rate on credits of regional banks has to promote increase of enterprise activity of subjects of small and medium business and increase stability of credit institutions.
Keywords
regional banks, credit portfolio, small and medium business, subsidizing of the interest rate on credit
AUTHOR
Evgeny Porotkin
PhD in Economics, Associate Professor Department of Finance and Credit and Financial Right Samara Academy of State and Municipal Government Department of Economy, Finance and Accounting Samara Institute of Management Samara, Russia evg.porotkin@mail.ru
In conditions of financial crisis and insufficient volume of financial resources, which small and medium business has for the development, the banking system has to become some kind of catalyst of regional economic development. The modern regional banking market consists of territorial offices of the Bank of Russia, branches of large network banks, generally with the state participation, and the credit institutions registered on the territory of the region. It would be desirable to talk about the last group of financial credit
