Victoria Arpels is our Founder, Head of Training and Major Share Holder.
Having sold over 1,000,000 courses and with a client base of over 100,000 students and graduates, Victoria is widely regarded as one of the leading educators in the industry. She continues to lead the group through innovation and believes that everyone should have an equal opportunity to learn regardless of financial status or physical location. It’s about building meaningful relationships and skills that will last a lifetime.
Victoria has always had a passion for beauty and a clear vision to help others achieve success. After leaving school, Victoria enrolled onto a NVQ Level 2 and NVQ Level 3 in Beauty Therapy at City College in Norwich, England. During this time and to support her education, Victoria worked as a Therapist in a busy privately owned spa where she learned the skills which would later enhance her career. Throughout the next 2 years, Victoria completed several private short intense courses allowing her to learn further treatments whilst gaining vital knowledge and expertise.
At 19, Victoria enrolled on a 4 year teacher training programme which included a Certificate in Education, Teacher Assessors Award and BA (hons) in Inclusive Practice and Education. Victoria completed her teaching degree along side her Internal verification assessors qualification and, at the age of 24, graduated at the Norwich Cathedral receiving her Bachelor of Honours in Inclusive Practice and Education.
Whilst studying, Victoria worked as a part time lecturer at Further Education Colleges as well as with several product brands including Salon Systems & Le Chat. Victoria had the opportunity to travel and represent product companies abroad in several countries further enhancing her profile within the industry. Victoria’s passion for beauty continued to grow and her love for teaching provided the perfect vehicle to inspire others to achieve their dreams.
Continuing to teach for major brands, Victoria set up her own training company with an initial focus on offering training from her local area in Norfolk. Having built the business, she quickly expanded with a nationwide reach within 2 years and Next Step Beauty was born. Victoria continued to expand the business adding training locations across the country whilst building an expert team of educators and office staff to support the growth. Victoria, keeping on the front line of education, saw a gap in the market and oversaw the development of her online training platform knowing that online courses would open up more oppotunities too people and secure a worldwide reach. The online learning platform, called the Easy Learning Portal, enabled students to develop their skills without the requirement of traditional classroom learning. This development was a breakthrough within the industry and an absolute innovation. Other innovations followed with the first instant certification system, online course accreditation and the breakup of the traditional learning model all being credited to her. Victoria also founded Beauty Tribe Ltd, developed relationships and nurtured a network of resellers and international partners who sell the online course and grew this business, leading to the acquisition of MHD Pro in 2021 adding hair courses to the growing list of courses.
Victoria and her husband had their first child together at the age of 27. Returning to work quickly, not only was Victoria a leading educator, business woman and still teaching daily but she was a mummy too. Life was very busy and her passion for beauty and education continued, her drive to grow the business never faded. At the age of 29 Victoria gave birth to her second child however sadly just 6 weeks later she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. This meant Victoria faced a minimum 6 month battle going through chemotherapy and although during this time Victoria was forced to step back from the business she kept an active role as Founder. After receiving the news that she was in remission, Victoria started to get her life back but sadly just 6 months later, the cancer returned leading to further treatment and radiotherapy. Finally after an 18 month battle, Victoria received the amazing news that the cancer had gone. From this moment Victoria began re-building and over the next year went back to teaching and doing what she loved best, helping others achieve their dreams.
Victoria began to write articles which were published in several industry publications including Vitality Magazine, becoming a featured educator. Victoria started her own blog and grow her social media profiles leading to the launch of the Beauty Industry Support Group in 2020 which now has thousands of members and is thriving.
At the beginning of 2020 and with the onset of the global pandemic, Victoria decided she needed to move quickly and soon integrated virtual training into her education platform. This allowed students to learn and gain their qualifications from home via live interactive sessions. Victoria was instrumental in getting online courses accredited with the leading beauty associations and developed strategic partnerships with the main insurance companies allowing graduates to gain insurance on successful completion of their courses.
In early 2021, Victoria announced plans to launch her very own product brand and full online product store which will be coming later in 2021 having successful negotiated listings with many of the leading brands in the beauty industry.
Victoria is looking forward to the future and continuing her work within the industry.
