Increasing access to cosmetology school is a key factor in the continued growth of the industry, and ensuring that career-focused training programs are made available is an early step needed to address skills gaps in the workforce. But the question remains, what can schools do to make their programs more accessible? Below, we take a look at three impactful methods you can employ to empower more people to enroll in your courses.
Offer various program timeframes
One way to allow more people to access your programs is to provide a more diverse range of timeframes over which the program can take place. Only offering full-time courses often means that prospective students might need to leave their current employment in order to attend, which for many is unfortunately not feasible. By offering part-time options, those who need to keep working to maintain their income or who may have other commitments during regular class hours can still have the opportunity to attend your programs.
And still, sometimes even part-time courses that require someone to be in class at certain hours may not fit — that’s where self-paced programs come in. Not everyone has the same schedule, and emergencies can come up that a person wouldn’t be able to anticipate. One of the benefits of a flexible, self-paced program is that learners know they’ll have the amount of time they need to build their knowledge and grow their skills, regardless of what the schedule looks like.
Offer multiple program formats
Because in-person programs necessarily mean having to be in a certain place at a certain time, offering online education in addition to in-person allows more people the chance to access your courses. No matter if someone is located across the country, or if their current work or family obligations mean that they can’t make the commute to the classroom, the barriers are removed by remote options. And if you think it’s impossible for a cosmetology school to be online, think again — in fact, some Climb partner schools have succeeded in doing just that, despite their hands-on fields!
Offer diverse payment options
Finally, one other effective method for increasing access to cosmetology school is expand the number of alternative payment options. After all, those looking to enroll in your courses aren’t one-size-fits-all, so the payment options available to them shouldn’t be either.
Some might be able to afford paying the tuition amount all at once upfront. But for others, they may need to break up tuition into smaller amounts. By offering various alternative payment options such as interest-free recurring payments or student loans, you can enable more people to get their foot in the door, where otherwise they would have been blocked due to tuition costs.