Post by uptowndragon on Feb 19, 2021 14:14:35 GMT 7
Interview With IBCI CEO Darren Soo (19/02/2021)
BEAUTY BIZ CONSULTANT PUSHES EDUCATION TO THE FOREFRONT IN THE LOCAL BEAUTY INDUSTRY
Story: Dragon Photo: IBCI
Darren Soo leading the charge for education in the beauty industry with IBCI.
Rentak Sejuta recently had the opportunity to interview Darren Soo, Founder and CEO of International Beauty Certified Institue which is expected to make waves in the beauty industry. Soo, also happens to be the Founder of Unicorn Beauty Business School and also the Vice Dean of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (ISI). The enterprising young gentleman is also the Co-founder and CEO of China Huasheng Beauty Industry Overseas - Southeast Asia Region.
He shared with us his ideas and hopes for the beauty industry and a brief on IBCI, his latest business initiative.
Tell us about yourself and your business?
My name is Darren Soo. I started Unicorn Beauty Business School (UBBS) in 2017 which was later upgraded to Unicon Beauty Incubation Base when we moved into our own building. In early 2020, I founded the International Beauty Certified School (IBCI) which is focused more on professional beauty education.
Is IBCI already running?
Because of the MCO, IBCI is currently focused on introducing the concept, and establishing and marketing the brand. No classes are currently being conducted at the moment.
Why did you set up IBCI?
I am from the beauty industry. I started with product branding. I was the sole distributor for a Japanese brand in Malaysia. When I was out doing my sales, I discovered although many of the beauty salons were certified with a business license, some did not obtain any professional training, so the legality of their product selling and services is not there. So it was my intention to ensure the legality of these businesses for the consumer market through professional education.
So your intention is to get all these salons or beauty centres officially certified?
Before they can get certified, they need to be professionally educated.
Is IBCI the first of its kind?
Actually, it is very new to the local market. In fact, rarely does KDN approve this under “Pendidikan” (Education), but since last year they have approved more than 30 institutes. We are one of them.
What is the main function IBCI is going to play in the beauty industry?
We are actually playing the part of being the bridge between the government and the professional beauty industry, to assist them in connecting, by supplying them with more appropriate information that relates to the business, as well as education.
Can you tell us what is IBCI offering?
For the education part, we are divided into 3 segments: one is hand skills upgrading, targeted at working beauticians in the beauty industry, the second is business management in the beauty industry and finally on technology networking skills - focusing on skills for the online platforms, such as using of smartphones (phonegraphy) to develop marketing materials and also developing online marketing skills.
When is IBCI planning to start your classes? Will it be online or offline?
Our management is hoping to start offline courses in March 2021 with the first courses being conducted in Universiti Malaya. IBCI already has 8 branches which will also be conducting classes such as beauty, makeup, hair aesthetics, body massage, zeer and embroidery. UM has already approved 12 subjects for the first batch.
What about the instructors?
We have educators which are certified under VTO, SKM, HRDF and more, with some of them from overseas.
Can the students use HRDF for these courses?
It is currently under processing.
What about the medium of instruction?
The courses will be conducted in both English and Chinese, but primarily in English as we are targeting international markets. The students can select the medium of instruction.
What are the fees like?
Prices start at around RM 5,000 to complete a full course. We are currently working with some of the banks to provide education loans to the students.
Do you have mentorship programs at IBCI?
Yes, we have hired consultants who can conduct mentorship programs. Just because a student attends a course, it does not mean they will be able to execute, That’s why we do provide them with a mentorship program to assist them to be ready for the actual work environment.
Currently, during this pandemic, we are also providing free online consultation programs to beauty entrepreneurs in this market.
How does one enrol in IBCI?
They can register through our website. Once they register, we need to check their qualifications to ensure they meet our minimum requirements.
For professional certification, they need to be at least 18 years old and above, and with a minimum of 2 years working experience in their current position in the beauty industry. This is the minimum requirements by UM.
What is the average length of courses in IBCI?
For professional courses, it will take up to three months to graduate, if they attend 3 to 4 classes a month. They will also have online programs to assist them during the course period, 20 -30% of the coursework is the theory, with the rest being practical.
Other than UM, where else can the students attend courses?
They can also attend at our main building (Wisma Unicorn) in Petaling Utama Avenue.
What else would you like our readers to know about your institute?
The institute is housed on four floors, which hosts various facilities for beauty entrepreneurs, In the ground floor we have a display area for product marketing companies to exhibit their wares without any charges, just to help them to promote their brands. We also have a studio area for photography, a seminar hall which can host 120 pax which can be converted into a classroom that can host 60 to 80 pax. We also have a multimedia section, and also an interview section.
Anything else you would like to share with us?
A lot of people have been asking me about IBCI, especially our objective. We are not only conducting professional education programs to push beauty entrepreneurs into having a formal background, but we are also protecting the rights and interests of the consumers as well as elevate the business of this beauty industry.
Your objective is to raise the standard of the beauty industry in Malaysia?
We want to redefine the education system in this beauty industry.
How long have you been doing this and why?
My time in the beauty industry have just been 6 years, but in actual fact, my knowledge in it is much much more. I got into this industry because I wanted to try something new. I was bored in my previous industry which was trading and distribution of electrical and electronic products. I got into the beauty industry when I became the sole distributor of a Japanese beauty product, When I started distributing my second beauty brand, I realised that if I only do distribution, my contribution would be limited, so I decided to switch to education because education is needed by everyone. Then I found out in the beauty industry, hand skill workers consider their own status very low. Compared to Japanese, once they graduate, get a lot of respect from the public. Unfortunately in Malaysia and Singapore, most beauty entrepreneurs do not have the respect of the public. This is because of the lack of education background.
BEAUTY BIZ CONSULTANT PUSHES EDUCATION TO THE FOREFRONT IN THE LOCAL BEAUTY INDUSTRY
Story: Dragon Photo: IBCI
Darren Soo leading the charge for education in the beauty industry with IBCI.
Rentak Sejuta recently had the opportunity to interview Darren Soo, Founder and CEO of International Beauty Certified Institue which is expected to make waves in the beauty industry. Soo, also happens to be the Founder of Unicorn Beauty Business School and also the Vice Dean of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (ISI). The enterprising young gentleman is also the Co-founder and CEO of China Huasheng Beauty Industry Overseas - Southeast Asia Region.
He shared with us his ideas and hopes for the beauty industry and a brief on IBCI, his latest business initiative.
Tell us about yourself and your business?
My name is Darren Soo. I started Unicorn Beauty Business School (UBBS) in 2017 which was later upgraded to Unicon Beauty Incubation Base when we moved into our own building. In early 2020, I founded the International Beauty Certified School (IBCI) which is focused more on professional beauty education.
Is IBCI already running?
Because of the MCO, IBCI is currently focused on introducing the concept, and establishing and marketing the brand. No classes are currently being conducted at the moment.
Why did you set up IBCI?
I am from the beauty industry. I started with product branding. I was the sole distributor for a Japanese brand in Malaysia. When I was out doing my sales, I discovered although many of the beauty salons were certified with a business license, some did not obtain any professional training, so the legality of their product selling and services is not there. So it was my intention to ensure the legality of these businesses for the consumer market through professional education.
So your intention is to get all these salons or beauty centres officially certified?
Before they can get certified, they need to be professionally educated.
Is IBCI the first of its kind?
Actually, it is very new to the local market. In fact, rarely does KDN approve this under “Pendidikan” (Education), but since last year they have approved more than 30 institutes. We are one of them.
What is the main function IBCI is going to play in the beauty industry?
We are actually playing the part of being the bridge between the government and the professional beauty industry, to assist them in connecting, by supplying them with more appropriate information that relates to the business, as well as education.
Can you tell us what is IBCI offering?
For the education part, we are divided into 3 segments: one is hand skills upgrading, targeted at working beauticians in the beauty industry, the second is business management in the beauty industry and finally on technology networking skills - focusing on skills for the online platforms, such as using of smartphones (phonegraphy) to develop marketing materials and also developing online marketing skills.
When is IBCI planning to start your classes? Will it be online or offline?
Our management is hoping to start offline courses in March 2021 with the first courses being conducted in Universiti Malaya. IBCI already has 8 branches which will also be conducting classes such as beauty, makeup, hair aesthetics, body massage, zeer and embroidery. UM has already approved 12 subjects for the first batch.
What about the instructors?
We have educators which are certified under VTO, SKM, HRDF and more, with some of them from overseas.
Can the students use HRDF for these courses?
It is currently under processing.
What about the medium of instruction?
The courses will be conducted in both English and Chinese, but primarily in English as we are targeting international markets. The students can select the medium of instruction.
What are the fees like?
Prices start at around RM 5,000 to complete a full course. We are currently working with some of the banks to provide education loans to the students.
Do you have mentorship programs at IBCI?
Yes, we have hired consultants who can conduct mentorship programs. Just because a student attends a course, it does not mean they will be able to execute, That’s why we do provide them with a mentorship program to assist them to be ready for the actual work environment.
Currently, during this pandemic, we are also providing free online consultation programs to beauty entrepreneurs in this market.
How does one enrol in IBCI?
They can register through our website. Once they register, we need to check their qualifications to ensure they meet our minimum requirements.
For professional certification, they need to be at least 18 years old and above, and with a minimum of 2 years working experience in their current position in the beauty industry. This is the minimum requirements by UM.
What is the average length of courses in IBCI?
For professional courses, it will take up to three months to graduate, if they attend 3 to 4 classes a month. They will also have online programs to assist them during the course period, 20 -30% of the coursework is the theory, with the rest being practical.
Other than UM, where else can the students attend courses?
They can also attend at our main building (Wisma Unicorn) in Petaling Utama Avenue.
What else would you like our readers to know about your institute?
The institute is housed on four floors, which hosts various facilities for beauty entrepreneurs, In the ground floor we have a display area for product marketing companies to exhibit their wares without any charges, just to help them to promote their brands. We also have a studio area for photography, a seminar hall which can host 120 pax which can be converted into a classroom that can host 60 to 80 pax. We also have a multimedia section, and also an interview section.
Anything else you would like to share with us?
A lot of people have been asking me about IBCI, especially our objective. We are not only conducting professional education programs to push beauty entrepreneurs into having a formal background, but we are also protecting the rights and interests of the consumers as well as elevate the business of this beauty industry.
Your objective is to raise the standard of the beauty industry in Malaysia?
We want to redefine the education system in this beauty industry.
How long have you been doing this and why?
My time in the beauty industry have just been 6 years, but in actual fact, my knowledge in it is much much more. I got into this industry because I wanted to try something new. I was bored in my previous industry which was trading and distribution of electrical and electronic products. I got into the beauty industry when I became the sole distributor of a Japanese beauty product, When I started distributing my second beauty brand, I realised that if I only do distribution, my contribution would be limited, so I decided to switch to education because education is needed by everyone. Then I found out in the beauty industry, hand skill workers consider their own status very low. Compared to Japanese, once they graduate, get a lot of respect from the public. Unfortunately in Malaysia and Singapore, most beauty entrepreneurs do not have the respect of the public. This is because of the lack of education background.
