Preparing For Training - Part 1...

When I was writing down notes for this post I realised there was so much to talk about that I had to do it in 2 parts. This first post will be about things you need to do and the next post will be about what you need/should bring with you in your suitcase.

When you get confirmed a place at training you will get a starter pack emailed to you. Print this out as soon as you can and read through everything (apart from fitness if you aren't doing that). There is so much information in this pack and step by step instructions on how to apply for your CRB and American visa. There also should be a check list but for me personally I made my own one as there was some other things I personally had to do.

Your contract will arrive in the post in around a week. You need to sign this and scan the signed contract to an email provided to you. I think its something like recruit@theonboardspa.com. Everything you do needs to sent to this email as they need to make a log of it.

Something I will say is save, save, save. You need alot more money than you think for this new adventure. I think i have spent around £2000 on fees, living costs, travel, medical stuff and some new clothes/toiletries. You need to be fully prepared for this, I was very fortunate as my family members chipped in when i ran out of funds during training.

The first thing I did from the starter pack was my Criminal Record Background Check (CRB) there are again instructions in your pack and it costs around £30 ish. This is a very quick thing to do and very easy and should arrive in the post in about 2-3 weeks after you apply for one.

Next I would recommend for you to do your American visa. You need to apply online, which takes forever but its necessary and then you pay for it and book an interview date and time. The interview will be at the US Embassy in London and will be an early time. Once you have your date make sure you have everything you need. You will get an email
listing what you need to bring. At the interview you have to wait in a queue outside and then have your documents checked. You will then be called into a little security box where your bags will be checked (don't have any large liquid items, I had a large perfume bottle which they weren't happy about). You will then walk around the building and into the doors and collect your number which will be stuck onto your passport. After this you will then go into a massive waiting room with a large screen with numbers flashing up. You just have to sit and wait for your number to come up and see what booth you have to go to. You get called up twice. The first to hand in your documents (and passport sized photos), you sit back down, then when your number flashes again you go back up (could be a different booth) and have your interview. This isn't very long and is very easy. After this you exit and wait for your visa to be sent to you with your passport.

Your training and uniform fees need to paid via a bank transfer which i would pay for as soon as you can as this confirms your place at training and at the YMCA where you will be staying. This is between £300-£400. After you have transferred the money I would email them to let them know you have. Make sure the reference on the transfer is your full name.

When it comes to the medical side of things there are a few things you could do. If you are on the pill I would go to your doctor and get a years prescription so you can take it with you on board. If your doctor refuses or wont do it then clinics should be able to do it for you. You need to get confirmation of you MMR jab which you can get printed from your doctors surgery very easily. You are also asked to have a smear test and a yellow fever jab. I didn't have either as lots of ships don't need you to have them but if you want to have them and can afford it I would as it saves a lot of time and hassle if you do need to have either one done. If you are over 25 you must have a recent smear test but if you are not (like me) then I wouldn't worry too much about it, however it is recommended.

4 weeks before you start your training you will have your online training information which you will have 2 weeks to complete. You will have 2 modules each with 3 sections. The Elemis training is very lengthy so I would suggest completing the other one first as it is easier. The Elemis module is all product and company knowledge and I would write everything down as you need to revise and learn it. If you want to take photos of the information then that is also good but for me personally I learn better from hand written notes so that is what I did. It is vital that you pass these tests, if you make notes then you should pass them.

In the first 2 weeks of training you have product knowledge tests which you also have to pass and i made the mistake of not revising that many so I would highly recommend that you do. Your first week is just body treatments and your second week will be what you will specialise in (facials/la therpie/ionothermy/massage).

The last few things:

Make sure your hair has no roots and is recently dyed (if you colour your hair). No crazy colours either as they will probably get you to change it before you go on your ship.

Make sure your nails are clean, polish free, short and neat.

Have some money to convert into whatever currency your ship will use as you don't get paid until 4-6 weeks into your contract.

Say your goodbyes to everyone you want to.

Sorry again for a massive post but more is yet to come.

Thank you for reading

Meg Rose

xxx