KUCHING: 60 graduates in both beauty and hairdressing disciplines of Maison Monica Hair & Beauty Academy on Monday night received their graduation certificates in conjunction with its convocation ceremony cum 45th Anniversary Charity Dinner here.
Chairman of Kuching Chinese Community Charitable Trust Board, Dr. Chou Chii Ming presented the certificates on behalf of Minister of International Trade and E-Commerce, Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh at the event held at Thian Court, Crown Square at Jalan Pending.
Earlier on, Chou announced an allocation of RM10,000 from Wong to the management of Maison Monica Hair & Beauty Academy.
Meanwhile, Organising Chairman and Vice Principal of Maison Monica Hair & Beauty Academy, Gene Thien, in her welcoming address, said Maison Monica Hair & Beauty Academy had a very humble beginning and that it started its first retail salon on December 14, 1971.
She stressed it was their clients’ continuous support and feedback that drove Maison Monica to grow in every aspect including technical expertise, staff strength, customer service and even shop floor areas.
“In 1996, with more talents joining Maison Monica, the founder decided that the salon would formally incorporate the training department in its operation even though training was provided to apprentices right from the early 80s.
“It was the founder’s wish that with this formal incorporation, more talented aspiring hairstylists and beauticians would be able to take up training right here in their home town.
“To the academy, providing practical training is not limited to just passing of experience and knowledge from industry practitioner but the training should also be formally accredited and endorsed by relevant authorities that regulate the country’s skills training,” she said, adding the academy was the very first few training centres in Kuching accredited by the Skills Development Department (JPK) under the Ministry of Resources.
Thien added the accreditation had enabled trainees to obtain training that was in line with the requirement of JPK and to sit for the certification examination that led to the Malaysian Skills Certificate (Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia) for Estheticians and Hairdressers.
“Moreover, to facilitate the need to obtain internationally recognised certificiation, Maison Monica sought collaboration with City & Guilds (UK) London to offer courses for Advanced Diploma and Diploma in Beauty Therapy and Hairdressing.
“The invaluable working relationship enables the transfer of know-how and experience which greatly benefit the students of Maison Monica with reduced costs of training abroad,” Thien pointed out.
She also hoped that Maison Monica would continue to improve its training methods and learning environment in order to groom the next generation of hairstylists, makeup artists and beauty therapists so that they would be able to display high level of professionalism and expertise in the cosmetology industry.
