India’s beauty school: It’s a struggle
In December, Indian beauty school founder Arvind Gupta left his post as CEO of a prestigious Delhi-based company to start his own beauty school, Ad Beauty Images, with an ambitious goal to create an India-wide network of more than 200 beauty schools and provide more than a million students with the tools and knowledge they need to get the best out of their beauty careers.
Gupta is now looking to transform his brand into a global network of thousands of schools.
The first of his 200 schools opened its doors in the city of Gurgaon in March.
Gupta said the first year students enrolled at the schools would be enrolled at least a year ahead of their parents, who were then free to choose their own enrolment.
The schools were meant to be the gateway to a brighter future for Indian beauty students, he said.
The school has already opened its first campus in Delhi, and will soon open an in-country facility in New Delhi and Hyderabad.
“We want to help young Indian women get the confidence and self-esteem they need for success in the industry,” Gupta said.
He believes that the success of Ad Beauty images, which is funded by the Indian government, will help in providing education to the next generation of aspiring beauty entrepreneurs.
While the number of beauty schools is expected to grow, the demand for beauty is expected not to increase much as people have other interests, Gupta said, adding that the number and quality of the students will also change.
“There are about 20,000 beauty schools in India.
We have about 3,000 students enrolled,” he said, while also admitting that the school was only meant to serve the small minority of beauty students who are in the country illegally and have no right to a scholarship.”
The government is trying to help people who want to pursue the beauty career.
It’s not just about helping the illegal ones but about helping other illegal ones too,” he added.
As the number grows, Gupta plans to expand the network to offer courses in other Indian cities.