As the trainees have never worked in the spa industry before, the training needs to be comprehensive, as Janice Finlay from Equinox explains: "The training will include basic anatomy of the hands and feet, physiological changes that take place in the body during massage, massage techniques, building a hand and foot ritual, products used in performing this ritual, professional conduct including speech, body language, dress and grooming, as well as general work place etiquette. Once the trainees have embraced and mastered the above skills, Equinox Spa will extend their training to include other basic spa treatments."
The Heideveld area has high levels of poverty, gangsterism and crime, and forms part of the Cape Flats. "Equinox Spa would like to shine a light in this community and believe it's a privilege to be able to reach out to people irrespective of race, age, religion, culture or sexual orientation," says Finlay.
Apart from the training, the employees of the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel and Spa will also hand over R3 100 and numerous Christmas gifts to Lisa Truter and Marike Bornman of the Zoe Trust, who will be hosting a Christmas party for the children of the Kid's Club, a programme that they run in Heideveld.
