About The French

Discover the rich history of Australia's Premier Beauty Academy

“We are determined to disrupt the traditional models of VET education and are deeply committed to making The French the best place in the world to study beauty. While our commitment to excellence in education is at the core of everything we do, the heartbeat of our business is one of transformation. Our purpose is to harness the power of the ripple effect that happens when one person decides to invest in themselves and their future and the subsequent impact this has. For us, this has become our mission - to be the place to grow and change; the protective, loving environment where learning takes place uninhibited by prejudice and judgment; the place where true personal growth occurs. This is our North Star - our guide in making decisions and governing how we do business.”
Sherelle French
Academy Director

The French at a glance

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The year The Academy was established
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Connections to Industry for our students
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Diploma students secure employment
before Graduation
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Alumni worldwide working in industry
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4 Cutting Edge campuses in Australia

About The French

The French Beauty Academy is Australia’s largest and most prestigious registered training provider for services in the beauty therapy industry. Established in 1986 as one of Australia’s first government registered beauty academies, The French has a rich history of delivering high quality vocational training and world-class graduates for over 35 years. Each year The Academy accepts students into training programs in the areas of beauty services, dermal therapy, laser, make-up, style, massage, and medi spa therapies, with over 90% employment outcomes for diploma students.

The French Beauty Academy is an approved VET Student Loan provider, as well as a training organisation (RTO 32220) registered to deliver the nationally accredited Diplomas of Beauty Therapy, Screen and Media and Salon Management along with a number of nationally accredited certificate courses and short courses which are accepted by salons, spas, health retreats and retail sales outlets in Australia and around the world. All of The French’s programs are accredited and recognised by the Australian Qualifications Framework.

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Incredible Employment Outcomes

French graduates are the preferred choice globally for beauty and wellness practitioner positions in the salon, retail and medi-spa sectors, with nine out of ten French students securing employment before graduation. French students graduate with extensive in-salon experience and superior product knowledge from the Work Integrated Learning model and industry connections forged by the Industry Relations Team

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World Class Campuses

Operating from four purpose-built campuses across the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Adelaide, French students learn theory and practical skills in luxurious salon-inspired facilities that are designed to both educate and inspire. The state-of-the-art campuses reflect The Academy’s commitment to setting the standard as one of the world leaders in beauty education and are equipped with the very latest industry technologies, training devices, and partnerships with world-leading brands.

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Australia’s Number 1 Beauty Course

Exclusive to The French, The Academy offers the innovative flagship Service Excellence Program - a highly transformative holistic soft skills personal development training program that ensures each French graduate is equipped with the essential personal attributes anticipated by clients in a luxury service environment. Service Excellence is a student’s journey of personal growth to become confident, compassionate and motivated individuals; ready, willing and able to turn their dreams into reality.

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Our Heritage

Under the stewardship of The French Family, The Academy is proud to have been involved in the revolution of education in beauty therapies in Australia, having played a key role in the development of the first-ever training package for the Diploma of Beauty Therapy in Australia, now formally adopted by the Federal Government and providing the foundation for courses taught nationwide.

The French is shaped & strengthened by our corporate vision, mission & values

Our Vision

What We Strive To Achieve

To be globally recognised for revolutionising vocational education through our commitment to the transformative power of learning, self-development and empowerment, today and tomorrow.

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Our Faculty 3

Our Mission

ÊTRE BIEN DANS SA PEAU

True beauty lies within the soul.
It’s about knowing who you really are:
Accepting your imperfections and learning to listen to your inner wisdom.
It’s about honouring your spirit,
nurturing your mind,
and nourishing your body.
It’s a journey of discovery to that place where you love being ‘you’
 – comfortable in your own skin
Etre Bien Dans Sa Peau written in legacy script handwriting

Meet The French Family

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Luke French
Chief Executive Officer/MD

With his extensive international experience in financial analysis and management for large multi-national organisations such as AT&T, Luke is responsible for the execution, delivery and operationalisation of strategic goals set by the board of management. Luke is passionate about his staff, with a strong desire to foster an environment for success at the individual, team and organisation level aligning the talents and passion of the individual within a nurturing environment to create success. His door is open to every single person within the organization.

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Alan French
Chairman

For Alan French, his dual role as Chairman and Head of Teaching and Learning represents the culmination of his long and successful career as an Educator and Entrepreneur (he has over 45 years of experience within the education space and his esteemed work history includes a number of Principal roles and university management positions). His business acumen, passion for student centered learning and robust approach to curriculum development have steered The Academy’s growth to become one of Australia’s largest specialist training organisations.

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Sherelle French
Academy Patron

Sherelle is our Academy Patron, personifying the attributes of grace, refinement and compassion that she strives to instil in our students. With qualifications in sociology, psychology, business and marketing, Sherelle has forged a high level global career driving business planning, management, marketing and sales for corporations operating across the telecommunications, property, IT and the tertiary education sectors. Under her stewardship, The French introduced an innovative Service Excellence Program that incorporates a mentor-based personal development experience for our students. Back in 2009, Sherelle French rang around to all the local beauty industry employers on the Gold Coast and asked them who was the best training academy at the time. They all said the Gold Coast Training Academy (GCTA), a little RTO which The French Family decided to purchase. However it wasn’t until Sherelle began interviewing the GCTA students personally on their decision to study that the heart of our business really began to beat. The women that she interviewed had been told their whole life that they were dumb, not smart, or wouldn’t amount to anything. They all had a genuine passion for beauty and caring for others but their choice of beauty therapy as a career was either mocked or put down. They rarely had teachers that nurtured or believed in them at school and their self-esteem and self-worth was radically different to those students that Sherelle knew from her experience in private education. To this day, there is ongoing prejudice that the VET sector is the dirty, poor cousin of tertiary education in Australia. There is an inaccurate belief that university students are somehow more worthy or intelligent than those who decide to pursue a trade or career with their hands; That being academic or having a high earning job is the only measure of success. This frustration sparked Sherelle and her husband Alan’s idea ‘What if we could truly revolutionise VET education - what if we could build the Harvard of beauty? What if we could build a place for these women that took all our knowledge and experience (in education both high school and university sectors) and built a program that gave these women access to careers and a life they never dreamed of?” And so began our journey - if Harvard and Chanel were to have a baby…. it would be The French Beauty Academy.

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David French
Director of Operations

David brings to his role a breadth of experience from an international career spanning corporate finance and information technology. His portfolio covers all aspects of Academy operations including information technology, procurement, asset management and contract negotiation. Since joining The French in 2012 his entrepreneurial spirit revels in the excitement of the journey of a leading and growing enterprise. His long term vision is for The French to become a global leader in progressive education that places emphasis on the journey of education alongside the outcome.

The French Family Legacy

The French Family aims to improve the world by giving women access to holistic education and qualifications, employment, self empowerment and financial literacy, that in turn changes whole communities.
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French Beauty Academy 2021

Want to transform lives with us?

We’re looking for the nurturers, dreamers, glamazons and skin junkies, the fixers, clinicians, and wildly creative artists, the soothers, detailers and innovators who help our students find their light and share it with the world. Our Academy is led by a tribe of true pioneers who have very big dreams and everyone in our team realises that working here is more than a job – we have the power to open hearts, inspire minds and transform lives and that is a privilege we honour. Sound like you?

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