Students Graduate From Beauty Course
By Joy Mills-Ward
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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Dawn Percival receiving her certificate
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Basseterre, St. Kitts: Last Thursday 29th November 2007 at around 7:00pm a small gathering of friends, family, specially invited guests witnessed the Graduation Exercises of the St Kitts Academy of Hair Design & Aesthetics at the Cayon Community Centre. The St Kitts Academy of Hair Design & Aesthetics is run by Ms Cassandra Chapman of Ami Cassi Salon & Body Spa.
Two graduates, Ms. Chantal Rogers and Ms. Dawn Percival, received certificates for completing the 200hr Module in Nail Technology, which was completed within approximately 3 months. The Module focused on the theory and practical of administering Manicures & Pedicures, as well as the application of Nail enhancements (i.e. Acrylic Nails & Gel Nails).
Ms. Telca Wallace, a lifelong friend of the Academy’s facilitator, chaired the proceedings. The graduands were addressed by Mr. Osmond Petty,
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Starret Greene & Osmond Petty handing over certificates
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Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, and Mr. Starret Greene, OAS Representative from the General Secretariat in St Kitts & Nevis, two figures who were considered ideal to give relevant words of encouragement.
Mr Petty said that a lot of people think that training and learning leads up to some big test, but that the type of training just completed by the graduates required a lot of record keeping , to verify that students had completed the required amount of hours.
He also mentioned that World Bank made a presentation recently which indicated that the skills necessary to drive the Tourism/Service oriented industry, which drives the economy here, were not being taught in schools.
However, he noted that the Ministry of Education was doing all it could in terms of curriculum modification to bridge that gap.
~~Adz:Left~~ The Permanent Secretary told the graduates that after training the next step is to take a risk before they could get success. He encouraged them to go to a bank or other lending institution to get funds to open their own businesses.
“People who don’t take risks don’t make money. You may not have had 10 o’level subjects, but you now have a skill that people want,” he said.
He congratulated them for taking the initiative to do the course and making whatever sacrifice were necessary to complete it. He congratulated Cassandra for teaching the course and he went on to tell the graduates to go out and market the course.
The best marketing strategy would be for them to be successful in their own businesses, he noted and stressed on the importance of some research before they opened their own business, so as not to flood the market with skills already provided, but to find their own niche and make their business unique.
The Guest Speaker Mr Starret Greene, OAS Representative in the St Kitts &Nevis Secretariat spoke to the gathering about the fact that the Beauty Industry was expanding, and that worldwide consciousness was growing as people realize that they need to take care of themselves.
More and more, he said, people were taking an interest in their physical appearance not only for going to weddings, church, work, sports events, disco/liming but an interest in how they looked all the time.
“Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world,” Mr Greene intimated, “and people are not just going to come to relax, they want to get themselves looking good and feeling good. It’s not just tourists coming to go to the beach. They are coming to experience the people, the culture, the history, and the world renowned Kittitian hospitality,” Greene stated.
He mentioned the recent unveiling of the Christophe Harbour Development project, pointing out that because it would house a “village of restaurants & boutiques”, a championship golf course, a marina for mega yachts, these things would attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to our shores and the people of St Kitts & Nevis had to get themselves trained in the skills necessary in order to take advantage of the opportunities as they become available.
He advised the graduates to utilize the skills they learn to the fullest and implored them to be business minded so as not to be left behind in the dust of progress.
The evening ended with the Graduates presenting the facilitator, Ms. Cassandra Chapman, with a token of appreciation and delivering the vote of thanks.
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| Starret Greene, OAS Representative delivering speech |
Dawn Percival, Chantal Rogers & Cassandra Chapman in front row |
Telca Wallace & Cassandra Chapman |
