LETTERS

June 22, 2020

Duly respected, Ross Romano, Minister of Colleges and Universities and Travis Coulter, Superintendent of Private Career Colleges, Director, Private Career Colleges Branch,

As the Voice of the Ontario Beauty Industry, we would like to firstly appreciate your Leadership in your respected positions. We are happy to see the Ontario government take steps to gradually resume in-person instruction at postsecondary institutions.

On June 10th, 2020, the Postsecondary Education Summer Launch was announced, explaining the plan for Private Career Colleges to reopen their campuses during the months of July and August for priority in-person education and training.

The Summer Pilot plan was in reference to “the training for students who had completed all the theoretical portions of their vocational programs but could not complete practical training that requires in-person delivery. In-person instruction should prioritize, but not necessarily be limited to, students training for essential front-line, high labour market demand areas, including trades, personal support work, childcare, and other critical vocations. The pilot will allow small groups of students to complete their requirements, while allowing institutions to test their capacity to support campus-based activities in small group settings. Participation in this pilot is voluntary; institutions are not required to participate and students will not be compelled to participate.”

At this time, we would like to request some clarification, specifically as it relates to Ontario Private Career Colleges with approved Vocational Programs for the Beauty Industry.

  1. Please confirm that Programs in the following areas of study are not yet permitted to resume in class instruction:
  2. Hair Styling (Cutting, Coloring, Barbaring, Extensions, Design)
  3. Esthetics (Face and Body)
  4. Nails (Manicure, Pedicure, Enhancements)
  5. Makeup Artistry
  6. Other Face related areas of study, including (Eyelash Extensions, Brows, Tinting)

We understand that personal services are re-opening as per Provincial Guidelines, however as in class settings in a College environment is typically in a group setting and social distancing is not possible during the practical instruction and practice of the above programs, your further clarification would be much appreciated. Your Summer Pilot plan prioritizes Students of essential programs however further to the statement “but not necessarily be limited to” we would like more clarification specifically related to Beauty programs. We are eager to share this information with a large list of Private Careers Colleges with Approved Beauty programs who are in no rush to re-open their programs however seek clarification on the above.

  • It has been brought to our attention that while Private Career Colleges are respecting and adhering to Ministry guidelines during this Pandemic, there are unapproved Individuals and companies with training courses that have confirmed their re-opening during Phase 1. Needless to say, this acts completely against the efforts of PCCs and the Ministry working together during this unprecedented time.

As you are aware, many Private Career Colleges are unable to enrol and train Students during the COVID-19 closure, however their prospective Students are being advertised to and trained by Individuals and companies acting as schools. This leaves Private Career College Owners and Operators further concerned with not being able to financially recover from the negative impact of this COVID-19 Pandemic. PCCs need your help now more than ever to stop unapproved education in Ontario.

 
There is a related and larger concern at hand with Ontario, who unlike the Atlantic Provinces and many United States does not have mandatory licensing requirements for the Beauty Industry. Only Hair Styling (cutting and coloring), is mandated in Ontario, requiring approved education, apprenticeship hours and government licensing.

The other areas of the Beauty Industry however, such as Esthetics, Nails, Lash and Makeup training in Ontario is not mandatory, leaving the Public at risk with being serviced by untrained Professionals. Many aspiring Professionals who seek education find themselves registering for unapproved programs run by unregistered Individuals and Companies that run classes from their homes or unapproved locations. Often, Students do not know the difference between a registered College with Approved programs and unregistered individuals with short and inexpensive non-vocational programs that although are shorter in length, still do mimic a vocational program. This, more than ever takes away from Private Career Colleges as they work to recover their businesses post COVID-19.

We are requesting your immediate attention to these gaps in our Beauty Industry that not only put the Public at risk based on the gaps in education and licensing requirements in Ontario, but also serve to be unfair to PCC Owners that follow each and every regulation to ensure the safety of their Students along with the quality of education.

We are asking for your attention and support with the above concerns. The Beauty Council aims to ensure that Ontario becomes a Leader in Beauty Education standards and Public safety. We cannot do it without your support.

Thank you in advance for your reply. We hope to be able to speak with you further regarding ways to eliminate unofficial training, especially those that are taking it upon themselves to conduct training well before COVID-19 re-opening guidelines.

The Beauty Council

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