Rose Group creates school to address manpower lack

THE lack of skilled manpower to supply their expansions has prompted a local group of companies engaged in the pharmacy and salon services to setup its own Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda)-accredited technical school.

The Rose Group of Companies, the conglomerate behind Rose Pharmacy and Salon de Rose, has invested P8 million to open its first venture into education through the first globally-recognized institution in Cebu that offers vocational courses—the Rose Institute of Cosmetology and Pharmacy (RICP).

The school aims to produce quality skilled manpower for both Rose Group’s businesses, said RICP chief executive officer Brian Benjamin A. Lim.

The courses offered include those for Pharmacy Assistants and professionals engaged in Cosmetology.

Lim said there are currently 214 Rose Pharmacy branches nationwide and at least 28 Salon de Rose outlets. The businesses employ about 4,000 nationwide.

Lim cited professionals going abroad to find jobs there leaving businesses to operate on whatever is available here as the cause of the limited skilled manpower.

“The school will hopefully help solve that problem as we are adopting international standards based on the visits that we did in various institutions abroad like in Hong Kong, Paris, Malaysia, Singapore and more,” he said.

Expansion

Lim said they are planning to add seven branches for Salon de Rose every year for the next five years which will need a lot of manpower.

“For our salon, we hire at least 50 beauty experts every month and for our pharmacy, we need at least a hundred pharmacy assistants every month,” said Lim.

The lack of skilled manpower according to Lim will hamper their growth in the next years especially as they are targeting to have 500 Rose Pharmacy outlets by 2015 and will need at least 1,500 pharmacy assistants by next year.

Courses

RICP, located along Colon Street in downtown Cebu City, offers courses in hairdressing, make-up, nails, body massage, facials, foot reflex, Pharmacy Services and one- to two-year courses in Associate Pharmacy.

Eloisa N. Hernandez, dean of Pharmacy Services, said students may become a certified Pharmacy Assistant in three to six months.

She added that those who might be interested to put up their own “botika” may take a one-week crash course.

Cosmetology

Marilyn L. Polo, head of the Cosmetology department, said that those who enroll get a chance to be part of the Salon de Rose family.

The facility has three lecture rooms and two demo rooms for the Cosmetology Department while the Pharmacy Department has seven rooms—five lecture rooms, one simulation room and a learning resource center.

Hernandez said that they are also looking at offering a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy in 2016 when the first batch of K+12 program completes high school level.

“We are positioning to become an institution that will offer them technical courses as well as the BS Pharmacy program soon,” she said.

TESDA

Buenafe S. Sta. Rita, Tesda assistant regional director, said there are only two Tesda-accredited training centers in Cebu, which are offering vocational courses on pharmacy services and cosmetology.

Sta. Rita said that the opening of RICP will help produce more skilled professionals in the pharmacy and cosmetology field and cater to the growing demand in Cebu.