Ellie Weaver finds joy in helping people to look and feel their best, so she’s over the moon that her studies at TAFE NSW led to her dream job – caring for clients in a luxury day spa with stunning views of the ocean.

To cap that off, 20-year-old Ellie was recently named Tourism and Experience Services Student of the Year for the South region at the TAFE NSW Excellence Awards.

She found the job she always wanted at Spa by the Sea at Bannister’s Hotel in Ulladulla on the South Coast, after studying a Diploma of Beauty Therapy at TAFE NSW Moruya.

Ellie joined the industry at a time when the Federal Government’s Labour Market Insights predicts employment in the beauty sector to continue to grow by 12 per cent annually.

“I’ve always been passionate about caring for people and making them look and feel good so knowing I have the skills to do that is very rewarding,” she said.

“I was thrilled to win the student of the year award and my job is awesome – and I know I wouldn’t be here without TAFE NSW.

“I work with a great team in a happy, supportive environment and we even have a view of the sea so it’s the perfect place to do my dream job!”

Ellie has impressed her team at the spa so much that she’s already been promoted to a leadership role which the spa manager, Carolina Garcia, says is testament to Ellie’s care for her clients.

“Ellie’s training and demeanour and her attention to detail means she gets incredible feedback from our clients,” Ms Garcia said.

“She always gives 100 per cent and if you want to be cared for and looked after, Ellie is the person to go to.”

While studying at TAFE NSW Moruya, Ellie commuted from her home town of Braidwood and worked part time jobs to support herself until she qualified.

She loved every moment of her training and would “100 per cent recommend” TAFE NSW to anyone interested in joining the beauty industry.

She has thanked her teachers for helping her to win the Excellence Award, which she has dedicated to her mother.

“My mum motivated me to study beauty at TAFE NSW and she’s a model of who I’d like to be when I’m older,” Ellie said.

For now, she’s concentrating on learning as much as she can with an ambition to open her own salon in the future.

Media contact: Paul Terry, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, 0419 618 599.