Enterprise4All

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NEW ACADEMY WILL HELP STUDENTS ACHIEVE SUCCESS IN STYLE

A local entrepreneur, Jenab Patel, has launched a new business in Preston’s city centre that provides professional training programmes for aspiring makeup artists and stylists who want to hone their skills or build successful careers in competitive industries such as fashion and the media.

Based on Lune Street, Jen’s Academy now offers courses in all aspects of makeup and hair styling, as well as a wide array of beauty treatments. Many of the courses focus on specific sectors such as publishing or the bridal market – enabling students to choose the skills that best suit their career aspirations.

“Deciding which subjects to cover required a lot of thought,” explains Jen. “There are many different aspects to this industry: someone might want to run their own high street salon and someone else might want to get into television and their needs can be very different, so what I’ve created is a portfolio of specialist courses that meet the real, practical needs of potential employers and clients.

“There is a constant demand for makeup artists and stylists in industries such film, TV and publishing but competition can be fierce so if someone is serious about breaking into these markets, they need to go equipped with the right mix of skills. We have options such as a four-week course in Media Hairstyling or a one-week course in Photography and Catwalk Makeup, as well as others that focus on film, theatre and high fashion, to name just a few!”

When Jen herself first set out to develop these skills, she found she had to travel far and wide to do so. After completing her A-levels at Cardinal Newman College, she then had to enrol with academies in Manchester and Liverpool because there were no specialist course providers any closer to home.

Through these courses, Jen gained a thorough understanding of everything from alternative therapies to special-effect prosthetic makeup, and she quickly secured freelance employment in London. Here, she found herself working on theatrical productions, fashion photoshoots, TV adverts and with production companies such as Tiger Aspect. She also filmed on location with an independent film company and, as chief makeup artist, managed a team of artists and designers.

This all provided valuable experience but a nagging desire to put down roots and establish a business of her own led Jen back home to Preston. She had seen for herself how difficult it could be for aspiring artists to gain the necessary professional skills within Lancashire so, earlier this year, she made the decision to found her own academy.

She contacted Enterprise4All and found that she was eligible for free support under the Northwest Development Agency’s Business Start-Up programme. Working with E4All advisers, Jen developed a business plan and, in July 2009, she took the lease to her new premises.

The building had previously housed a team of accountants so a considerable amount of refurbishment work was required before it was ready to open. Now complete, it comprises an office, a hair and makeup training room, a beauty therapy room and a photography studio, which enables Jen to offer photoshoots as part of training courses and to help students to build up their own portfolios.

“Before I set up the Academy, anyone who wanted a professional career in hair and makeup really had little choice but to train outside Lancashire,” notes Jen. “It was expensive, inconvenient and time consuming and I’m sure it must have deterred many people from following their dreams. Now, though, they can study locally, choosing from a range of certificated programmes, and they can get the skills they need to start businesses of their own.”

More details about Jen’s Academy can be obtained at www.jensacademy.com or by calling 01772 253003.