Petaluma massage school launches accelerated program

PETALUMA – A long-established massage therapy school has chosen its Sonoma County site to test an accelerated certification program. The program was created to help laid-off workers find employment quickly in one of the state’s fastest-growing professions. Growth at the National Holistic Institute created in 1979 has exploded since owners Tim Veitzer and Mason Myers purchased the company in 2003, opening four new campuses including one in Petaluma three years ago.

The pair said the institute saw particularly swift growth this past year, increasing by 30 percent, which they attribute in part to more unemployed looking for a career change in a growing industry.

“I was concerned when it started to look like the economy was turning. Intuitively one might think massage is a luxury, but that’s not what we’ve found. Job listings are just as robust as they used to be, and we are still placing about 85 percent of our graduates in massage jobs,” Mr. Veitzer said.

“People might not be spending as lavishly on themselves to relax – going on expensive vacations, travelling overseas – but they are stressed, and they are taking care of themselves in less expensive ways.”

One recent Sonoma County enrollee said she became interested in the school after 10 years as an administrative customer service rep.

“It had gotten to the point where [my former employer] had almost eliminated my hours completely, and I wanted to do something that would open a lot of doors, not just one. … I was also really tired of sitting behind a desk,” said Vicki Tschirgi, whose daughter graduated from NHI in 2007.

Massage therapy is among the state’s 50 fastest-growing positions, according to the Economic Development Department, which projects job openings to increase by about 26 percent statewide by 2016, just behind the environmental sciences industry.

NHI’s pilot accelerated program was launched in Petaluma about two months ago and cuts down graduation time from about a year to six or seven months to complete 720 hours of training. Once the process is tried, the company plans to offer the program at all of its campuses. In addition to real-world work in the on-site massage clinic, the program also includes business coursework, customer service education and job placement assistance.

Neighboring massage school and nonprofit holistic center Sky Hill Institute Director Colette Bizal said its enrollment has remained steady in recent months, though it has seen an influx in visitors to its campus residency clinic.

“We are definitely seeing people coming through our doors for the first time that are looking for something a little more fulfilling,” she said. “We have also seen visitors in our clinic taking advantage of relieving stress at a reasonable price.”

Like NHI, Sky Hill offers discounted massages between $39 and $49 an hour. The nonprofit has also hosted a series of holistic-centered public workshops in recent months aimed at inspiring the community to be more mindful about individual health.

“What we suggest to people is to take extra effort to pay attention to their health. When we have high emotional stress, you can help yourself by eliminating physical stress,” Ms. Bizal said.