Variations, most remarkably in hour requirements, in state standards for credentialing beauty professionals are causing hardship and confusion for rising stylists, barbers, cosmetologists, and the like, according to the coalition.
The group’s mission, therefore, is to “proactively advocate for reforms and standards that help beauty students become top licensed professionals,” according to coalition’s site.
Excellence and employment
The Future of the Beauty Industry Coalition is a group comprised of stylists, salon owners, manufacturers, distributors, state cosmetology boards, students, and schools. The current membership includes Empire Education Group, BlueCo Brands, the Professional Beauty Association, and The International SalonSpa Business Network, according to a media release.
“Demand is high for beauty professionals across the county and the Bureau of Labor Statistics has said that our industry is poised to grow 10 percent during the next decade, surpassing all other occupations reviewed by the BLS,” notes Rhoda Olsen, president of The International SalonSpa Business Network, in the release about the coalition’s debut.
“We must take the best approach to properly move students into the workforce to fill those job openings while maintaining health and safety standards for our clients,” Olsen emphasizes.
State by state
A visit to the web site of the newly launched advocacy group makes known that for now the coalition is working most directly with Texas and Nebraska.
The big-picture goal is to create a nation-wide standard for the hourly requirement that’s part of the professional training, testing, and credentialing routine. “One national standard of 1,000 cosmetology school hours aligns with the coalition's effort to advocate for continuing education, national testing, and license mobility — reforms that will create flexibility, lower barriers to entry, decrease student loan debt, and protect consumers against the deregulation of licensed beauty professionals,” explains the press release.
In Texas, the group is actively engaged with that state’s legislature and Department of Licensing and Regulation in an effort to lower the number of required hours, thereby authorizing ready students to advance to professional careers in a timely manner.
In Nebraska, The Future of the Beauty Industry Coalition is advocating and educating around a piece of pending lawmaking known as Legislative Bill 343. While the bill doesn’t quite deliver on the coalition’s objective, it would lower the state's required cosmetology school hours from 2,100 to 1,500.