Beauty & wellness ind growing: Can related education catch up?

The beauty and wellness industry in India has been growing at a rapid pace over the past few years. With an increasing awareness about the importance of self-care, people are now more interested in investing in beauty and wellness products and services. This has led to a surge in demand for skilled professionals in the beauty and wellness industry, which in turn has given rise to the need for quality education and training programs in this sector.

The beauty and wellness industry of India offers an unparalleled potential in terms of employment generation and overseas placements. Realising the vast opportunity and huge challenge, the government has already initiated several initiatives through ‘Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council (BWSSC)’ in terms of creating relevant content and curricula, information databases, delivery systems, standardization of accreditation and certification process, setting up industry-aligned infrastructure etc.

Challanges in beauty & wellness education in India

Beauty and wellness education in India is an industry that has seen tremendous growth in recent years. However, there are several challenges that need to be addressed to ensure that the industry continues to thrive and produce skilled professionals. Here are some of the challenges that need to be addressed:

• Lack of standardization: One of the biggest challenges in beauty and wellness education in India is the lack of standardization in the curriculum. This leads to a variation in the quality of education provided across different institutes.
• Limited resources: Another challenge faced by the industry is the limited resources available for training. Many institutes do not have access to the latest technology and equipment, which can hinder the quality of education provided.
• Perception of the industry: The beauty and wellness industry is often viewed as a low-paying and low-status career option. This perception needs to change to attract more students to the field and provide them with better career prospects.
• Lack of skilled trainers: The shortage of skilled trainers is another challenge faced by the industry. Many institutes struggle to find trainers who have the necessary skills and experience to provide quality education.

To overcome these challenges, the industry needs to work towards standardizing the curriculum, providing better resources for training, promoting the industry as a viable career option, and investing in training programs to produce more skilled trainers.

Increased focus on skill-based education: With the demand for skilled professionals on the rise, beauty and wellness education programs are likely to become more focused on imparting practical, hands-on training. This could involve more industry collaborations, internships, and apprenticeships, as well as the use of advanced technology and equipment.

Solutions & Recommendations

1. Rationalise course curricula in the beauty and wellness sector with more focus towards industry exposure. As the country’s beauty and wellness industry is gradually shifting towards becoming more organised, professionals in the sector should be informed about the need for following professional standards in their services, seek formal industry-specific qualifications and certification by respectable organizations, as well as improve their existing qualifications through access to higher education and research. In order to provide candidates hands-on practical training and make them employable and future-ready, the job-related mix of classroom/ lab and workshop/ OJT could be revisited to 10:20:70 from the current 20:60:20 mix for job-roles in the beauty and wellness sector.

2. Enable early introduction of beauty and wellness courses in schools: As our current education systems emphasise on knowledge-oriented training based on rote learning, rather than practical and experiential learning of what a student could perform in real life using his/her mind and hand, it is necessary to orient our students in school towards vocational education as an alternative career choice. Absence of such practical and experiential learning thwarts the process of innovation, imagination, and creativity among the learners, leaving the children bereft of any necessary knowledge or skills for what awaits them in the future – the uncertain and ever-evolving world of work. NEP 2020 calls for the integration of vocational education with mainstream education.

3. Entrepreneurship development and facilitation support for beauty and wellness industries: Industry interactions have highlighted that while more than 50 per cent vocational pass-outs in the beauty and wellness sector opt for self-employment, there is also a noticeable tendency among the people working in the sector to start their own enterprises as soon as they have acquired few years of industry experience. Such entrepreneurs in the sector would need a vibrant support system to sustain their businesses, to foster entrepreneurship, and support higher levels of innovation and employment generation in the beauty and wellness industry. While it is necessary to take many initiatives in this regard, the most significant first step is to formalize their businesses through appropriate registrations to obtain a legal identity and link them with mentors, networking platforms and loans. Governments play a key role in developing an enabling regulatory environment to unleash the potential of entrepreneurship within any nation. By reforming their policies, laws and regulations, government must ensure that entrepreneurial activities are facilitated by an ecosystem for entrepreneurship education and development.

Overall, the future of beauty and wellness education in India looks bright, with plenty of opportunities for innovation, growth, and collaboration. Whether you're a student, a professional, or an entrepreneur, there's never been a better time to invest in this exciting and dynamic industry.

(The author is CEO of Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council)