A recent fundraising event hosted by Maureen Houssein-Mustafa, CEO of Australasian College Broadway raised over $15,000 for Jessie Gladwell (pictured), this year’s Australian WorldSkills entrant in the Hair and Beauty category.
WorldSkills is a bi-annual international event that sets precedents for world-competency industry standards. The 40th WorldSkills Competition will be hosted in Calgary, Canada from September 1 to 7, 2009 and will see over 1,000 competitors compete simultaneously in 45 skill categories over four days.
Ms Houssein-Mustafa said, “This competition is vital for benchmarking standards within our industry. For many of the Australian entrants who are at the start of their career, the only way they can compete and represent our country is through private funding and support. We’ve been very impressed by the generosity shown by our industry leaders and friends.”
Ms Houssein-Mustafa hosted the cocktail party fundraising event in her home, to thank the companies and individuals who invested in Ms Gladwell’s entry.
Supporters who attended the event included Adrian Piccoli, NSW Shadow Minister for Education; Ali Hammoud, Managing Director of Ella Rouge; Tony Potok, AM Williams; DeLorenzo, represented by Chris and Di DeLorenzo; Bilal Hammoud of Hair Talks; Anthony Elias, MT Management; David Adamson, IPL Clinic Broadway; Peter Hawley and Alan Rees, Hawley International, and Toni & Guy Australasia.
Jeanette Allen, Chair of Board of Directors, WorldSkills Australia who also attended the event said, “We were delighted with the support shown by Maureen and her peers at the event. Jessie, the guest of honour was completely overwhelmed by the encouraging words from the attendees and their ability to dig deep during these tougher times. It’s certainly given her a huge boost to go for gold at WorldSkills this year and we’re looking forward to tracking her progress.”
Ms Gladwell said she is proud to be representing Australia and honoured to be working alongside some of the most skilled professionals in the industry.
“Hopefully I can make them just as proud and bring home the gold. I would love to see this as a springboard that launches my career in beauty, and I hope to travel and learn more in salons around the world,” she said.
Ms Gladwell will undertake additional training and mentoring at the Australasian College Broadway to further hone her skills and complete her preparation for the competition.