A GLASGOW beauty salon has become the first in Scotland to take on trainees through a charity initiative.

Revival Retreat, in Renfield Street, will welcome 12 young people as part of The Prince's Trust Get Into programme, which helps unemployed young people gain the skills they need to get work in various sectors.

Lynne Hetherington, the manager of the award-winning salon, was able to open her first salon in Clarkston in 1990, thanks to a grant from the youth charity.

In 2003 she launched Revival Retreat in the West End and last summer opened the new, larger branch in the city centre.

Now she is looking forward to offering training in manicures, pedicures and eyebrow and eyelash tints, health and safety and reception during the 15-day training period.

Ms Hetherington, 44, said: "I started my first business with a Princes Trust grant. I went to the Trust and asked and it gave me the grant. It is good to give that bit back.

"One of the reasons people can't get a job is because they have no experience, even when they have done three years at college in beauty. If you give them the experience they have more potential."

Ms Hetherington, who has won the National Training Award for the last three years, opened the larger salon with the aim of taking on more trainees. She already offers in-house training and development programmes to her existing employees.

The young people on the new Get Into Beauty programme will get a NVQ level two qualification, which they can then use if they wish to go into further training.

Ms Hetherington said: "I am looking forward to the young people coming in. I am excited and all my staff are excited about it."

From April last year to the end of last month the Princes Trust has helped more than 630 young people through 52 different courses across 17 sectors. The total is 60% more than the previous year, when 390 young people took part in 34 courses.

Between April and December last year, figures revealed 73% of participants found a positive outcome following the programme, with more than half finding jobs.

Funding from the Wood Family Trust has helped to expand the programme, which has supported almost 2000 young people since 2007.

Among the success stories is Alan MacDonald, who took part in the Get into Logistics programme, working with logistics company DHL.

His mother died when he was young and, later, his father also died. Alan struggled to find work, having suffered from low self-esteem.

Desperate to make a change, he enrolled into the Princes Trust programme, hoping the extra skills and one-to-one mentoring would help him secure work. By the end of the programme he had secured himself a permanent job.

Now, as well as working full-time, the 26-year-old, from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, is inspiring other young people as a Prince's Trust Young Ambassador and a young trustee on the board of the DHL Foundation.

matty.sutton@eveningtimes.co.uk