Summary
Chelmsford resident Deborah, 38, attended ACL Essex in Chelmsford in 2022/23 and 2023/24. She completed Levels 2 and 3 Beauty qualifications during her time at ACL Essex.
Chelmsford resident Deborah, 38, attended ACL Essex in Chelmsford in 2022/23 and 2023/24. She completed Levels 2 and 3 Beauty qualifications during her time at ACL Essex.
Here is Deborah’s story:
“I’m a cleaning supervisor and I’ve got two children. The pay for my cleaning job isn’t great and during lockdown I wanted to start my own business. I thought about doing a few different things, including hairdressing, as I had done it when my son was younger, but it wasn’t really for me.
“Someone recommended the courses at ACL Essex to me and I saw the Beauty courses. I liked the sound of them and when I looked into it, I saw they did a Level 2 course. I tried that one, where I learnt how to do manicures, pedicures and facials and I loved it. After that, I went straight on to do my Level 3, where I focused more on body electrotherapy and massage.
“I’m quite an anxious person and being at ACL Essex has built up my confidence. They are brilliant. Everybody gets treated the same, and any issues I had, I could just speak to my tutor or the staff there, and they helped me with whatever I needed. My tutor went above and beyond for all of us and the other learners on the course with me were amazing.
“Earlier this year, I felt confident enough to start my own mobile beauty business offering the therapies that I enjoy doing. I absolutely love it. Now I want to build the business and I want to concentrate more on the massage side of it. I will still offer things like manicures and pedicures, which I learnt on the Level 2 course, but I really enjoy the massage side of things.
“I’ve done two courses back-to-back so I think I want to take a year out to carry on growing my business, but I’m definitely looking to do my Level 4.
“At the moment I’ve still got bills to pay and children to feed, but once I’ve built up enough clients, I’m going to give up the cleaning and work on my business full-time. I might even open a premises one day!
“At ACL Essex, you’re learning but it’s not like being at school. Of course you’ve got to put the work in – if you’re going to gain your qualification you have to commit to it – and it is a lot of work with the assignments and revision for exams. But it’s so worth it with what you get at the end of it. I’ve used my knowledge and new skills to open a mobile business; you can go into a salon if that’s the route you want to go down.
“Gaining a beauty qualification at ACL Essex opens so many doors.”
Deborah Burgess was an award recipient at the annual ACL Awards in 2024. Deborah won an award for ‘Outstanding Achievement’, which recognises standout individuals who have made extraordinary progress throughout their learning journey.
To find out more about Beauty and Complimentary Therapy courses at ACL Essex, visit www.aclessex.com/beauty.
