Face-off for job with top beauty firm

SINGAPORE - A job with a top beauty company is up for grabs in a "Fashion Face Off" competition launched by the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) this week.

Anyone who has completed a Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) course in beauty and fashion can participate.

They will be asked to create a series of specified thematic looks within a limited time before being judged by a panel made up of experts and members of the public.

Those who register will be screened in a qualifying round in September before being shortlisted to a list of 20 make-up artists and 20 fashion stylists.

Paired up randomly by organisers, the 20 teams will compete in the four-day competition beginning on Oct 24. It is organised jointly by the WDA, Carrie Academy International and the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies.

The event is aimed at promoting the three-day WSQ courses on designing and applying make-up, and on providing advice on fashion and apparels.

Up to 90 per cent of the cost of these courses is subsidised for Singaporeans and permanent residents.

Director of the WDA's health-care, retail and business services division Doris Kuek said: "We need to ensure that our retail workforce is well equipped with the necessary skill sets to provide professional and personalised advice on fashion, styling and make-up."

Mother-of-two Puvaneswary Govindasamy, 41, a retail assistant at Bourjois Cosmetics who completed the Design and Apply Make-up course, said: "This course gives me more opportunity in the future. I can be confident when I see an employer."

rmytan@sph.com.sg

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