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MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP the global approach to this challenge will go a long way toward improving the pipeline of qualified candidates. "A successful spa director has a lot of innate talent for hospitality and nurturing, but beyond that, today's successful candidates need much better training on technology, finance and the business side of operations," notes Ellis. Florida Gulf Coast University offers an actual spa lab as part of its hospitality management degree program, and class sizes there are steadily on the rise. Notes Hugh Jones, spa consultant and adjunct professor of Spa Management at FGCU, "Many students enrolled in the Resort & Hospitality Management program take a few elective courses on Spa Management, and the availability of a student-run spa and salon lab gives them a great combination of academic perspective and real-world experience." Dr. Mary Wisnom, professor and spa management coordinator at FGCU, adds, "Early in my teaching career it became evident that the best way to reinforce concepts learned in the classroom was to have students 'learn by doing.' Consequently, I adopted the Chinese proverb, 'Tell me, I will forget, show me, I will remember, involve me, and I will learn as my teaching philosophy.' Certainly there is classroom teaching taking place at FGCU, but the availability of an on-campus spa laboratory allows all hospitality faculty the opportunity to provide critical, hands-on learning." Perhaps the SRI report says it best: We encourage the spa industry to take a more proactive and partnership-oriented approach toward management workforce development. This approach must view workforce development not as the responsibility of schools or workers alone, but rather a system or network in which every stakeholder plays a critical role. The interactions and partnerships between the key stakeholders in the workforce development system are what make the system operate at its best. Human resources development is even more critical in a service- and experience-based industry such as spa, in which companies derive their competitive advantage largely from the skills, knowledge and professionalism of their employees. So how will you spend your training budget this year? Hopefully you can invest a little into the spa leaders of tomorrow, and into your own business as well. Lisa Starr (lstarr@wynnebusiness.com) is a business consultant for Wynne Business and a spa management trainer/educator. dayspamagazine.com/freeinfo • Use FreeInfo #48 dayspamagazine.com | APRIL 2013 99