Member Article

New fashion diploma helping students open industry door

A leading Newcastle school has joined with fashion industry experts to pioneer a new qualification to help students break into the booming £20 billion UK fashion industry.

Learning hair and beauty, photographic, catwalk and styling skills in salons and studios alongside qualified practitioners is underpinned by a strong emphasis on business start-up teaching, to give students the knowledge and confidence to form their own companies after graduation.

The MBC Diploma in the Fashion and Photographic Industry hosted at Excelsior Academy’s sixth form college is accredited by City and Guilds as a Level 3 Diploma – making it equivalent to an ‘A’ Level for those passing its demanding seven modules.

Its aim is to equip students with the skills the industry demands, to give them the best possible chance of securing work or creating their own business.

Excelsior College students Iram Begum and Kristina Kozlovska, both 16, hope to start up their own hair and beauty businesses after qualifying from the year-long course in June.

Iram, said: “I want to work as a make-up artist for the rich and famous. I didn’t really know about hair and beauty techniques or how to start a business and make it work. This course has taught me that.”

Kristina said: “I’ve learned so much about different skin types and styling which will help me launch my own mobile hair and beauty service when I leave school.”

Diploma founders Newcastle entrepreneur Ammar Mirza and Lesley Lister, Director of Tyne Tees Models, believe the course will open the door into a host of career opportunities in the booming UK fashion industry.

The British Fashion Council’s ‘Value of Fashion Report’ in 2009 stated the UK fashion industry was worth £20.9bn to the UK economy – contributing twice the amount of revenue to UK GDP that the car manufacturing sector does.

And the industry employs 816,000 people – equivalent to 2.7% of total UK employment.

Ammar said: “It’s the first qualification of its type, it’s recognised by the fashion industry internationally and it’s designed to open the door into a hugely successful industry which offers fantastic career opportunities for young women and men.

“It’s a fun course but it’s a hard course where students gain a huge amount of experience from working with industry experts who give them the skills that fashion employers now demand.”

Lesley said: “There’s a lot of talented pupils at Excelsior College and across the North East. But it’s a very difficult time for young people in the jobs market and they have to make big decisions about what to do with their lives.

“This course equips students with so many skills and life experiences which will help them break into one of the UK’s most successful industries.”

The diploma at Excelsior College is open to 16-18-year-old students from across the North East.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Excelsior Academy .