Employees Retraining Board - Massage for Healthcare Retraining Course

The Employees Retraining Board endeavours to develop retraining courses geared to market needs, in order to assist the retrainees to re-enter the job market. One of our directions is to enhance the fundamental job posts such as domestic helpers, security and property management personnel, and personal care worker to favourable professions through training.

With reference to recent market survey result, it is found that the market potential for healthcare massage service is enormous. After incorporating the professional advices from the massage service industry, the Board has designed and developed massage skills retraining courses in year 2004-05 and has achieved a desirable placement rate, and has then developed standardised foot reflexology and healthcare massage retraining course in 2005-06. In view of the changes of practices of massage services, the Board has launched a new "Massage for Healthcare Retraining Course" in January 2007 to meet the market needs.

The training content of the new "Massage for Healthcare Retraining Course" was developed with the participation of the professionals from the industry. Standardised assessment is built in the course to quality assure the performance of the retrainees, and to ensure them to be able to provide professional, reliable, enjoyable and credible healthcare massage services.

The training objectives of the course include:

1. To provide the retrainees the rudimental knowledge on and manipulation of Tui-Na;

2. To enhance the retrainees' understanding on the culture and requirement of the industry, and to have better knowledge on the customer service skills; and

3. To provide the retrainees the necessary work-related skills and assist graduate retrainees to enter the massage industry.

The training period for the Massage for Healthcare Retraining Course is 188 hours, the topics include:

• Rudimental Theory of Tui-Na and Application of Tui-Na Manipulation;
• Theory and Manipulation of Foot Reflexology and Foot Massage;
• Basic concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Introduction of Meridians and Acupoints;
• Basic concepts of Anatomy, Physiology, Human Structure and Bone and Skeleton;
• Taboos of Massage and Tui-Na and Self-Protection for Masseurs;
• Soft skills, Customer Service Skills, Emotional Management and Occupational Safety;
• Job Counselling.

To further develop the market of healthcare massage services, the Board has devised a 3-year development plan, which focus on the following 4 scopes: improving the training programme, exploring the market, strengthening the placement services and building brand for the service. In order to achieve the above goals, the Board will gradually raise the training places from 1,000 in 2005-06 to 6,000 in 2007-08, and also explore the job market and enhance the job referral services. We hope to motivate the development of healthcare massage market so as to create opportunities of employment and career development for the unemployed.