Davao City is a veritable melting pot of people yearning to achieve something in their lives. The city is a magnet for a variety of academic institutions and skills training centers. Nursing schools, caregiver training centers, information technology, tourism management….So, how about a beauty academy?
This is exactly what went through the minds of business partners Stifanny Grace Guira and Angelo Falconi when they decided to pursue the idea of putting up a beauty academy right in the heart of Davao City.
“There is nothing like it here in Davao as yet, so this would be a first not only here but in Mindanao,” Falconi said. And if the thought of having a beauty academy here in Davao impresses you, then knowing that it will be located at the P3-billion Abreeza property development project of the Ayala Land, Inc and the Floirendo Group of Companies could just blow you down.
Once completed, Abreeza is expected to be the newest “place to be” in the city as it will be a 10-hectare complete destination with office spaces, business process outsourcing facilities, shopping centers, hotels and banks among others.
Falconi envisions such an academy not only as a classy training center, but also one which will improve and professionalize the beauty industry in Davao City and in Mindanao. While he could not determine the exact investment the academy would entail, Falconi said it would probably be worth millions given the cost of retail space in such a prestigious development area.
“Most beauty professionals and investors go to Manila to get the necessary training they need for the beauty industry, but why do they have to go there when we can bring what Manila has to offer right here,” he said.
Falconi knows whereof he speaks, having been an outstanding industry player in mainstream Manila for years now. While he has attended trainings in Canada, Singapore, Australia and other foreign countries, it is perhaps his being a L’Oreal Ambassador that makes him an authority on the beauty business.
He said they are not sure about the exact date when the academy will rise since it will all depend on the completion of Abreeza, which is targeted next year.
Beauty centers
While there are numerous beauty parlors and salons in the city, there is as yet no establishment or institution specializing in beauty training. Short trainings and workshops on cosmetology are offered by some local politicians, though, as part of their livelihood project.
There are also skills and technical schools that offer cosmetology, hair salon management and similar trainings, like the Joji Ilagan Center and the Philippine College of Technology, among others, but the courses are not as extensive as those offered in Manila.
Tesda accredited
Guira said they are bent on putting up the academy at the Abreeza, but that will also depend on available space. “We would like to have a bigger space, of course, so we can offer the best training center for the beauty industry,” she added.
Falconi, who has started to make his dream of professionalizing the beauty industry in the city by putting up a salon here which he co-owns with Guira, said he also intends to bring in beauty industry professionals for the academy.
What is sure, he said, is that the academy will be a high-end type that will offer a variety of training and other services to the Davao and Mindanao salons.
Falconi said he also intends to make the academy a venue that can be utilized by suppliers for their training sessions. The reason why Manila-based companies do not conduct trainings here as often as possible is because of the lack of a training facility, he added.
He said the long-term goal is really to offer beauty trainings that are Tesda-certified. Falconi is a Tesda-certified trainor himself, but since he cannot conduct the certification tests at his own establishment, he plans to invite other Tesda-certified trainors so that those attending the academy trainings will have the Tesda seal of approval. Falconi is also a board member of the Philippine International Cosmetologists Association headed by Fanny Serrano. [Lovely A. Carillo]
