A little background information

Did you know that Alberta has over 50 designated trades? What sets these trades apart from other occupations is that they are directed by a board of directors who use the Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship Education Act to regulate the involved trades. This board consults with industry experts, for example, schools and employers, to establish and update certification requirements to meet the needs of employers (Tradesecrets, 2024).

The coolest amongst this group of trades is Hairstyling 😉  In the case of hairstylists, the board identifies the particular activities that hairstylists do, for example, cut, colour, perm, etc. These are called “restricted activities.” In other words, only people in the trade can perform those activities. Anyone performing or wanting to perform those activities must identify themselves either as a certified journeyperson, or as a sponsored apprentice with Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT).

This is done by either passing an exam to confirm that you meet industry standards, or registering as an apprentice after securing employment under the direct supervision of a certified journeyperson. You can also complete a designated occupational program, but then you still have to work the required hours, plus pass the exam.

Red Seal Endorsement

In Alberta, Hairstyling is considered a Red Seal Journeyman Trade. This means that hairstylists can earn a red seal certification after successfully passing an exam. The Red Seal Exam can be taken after proven certification based on education and hours worked in a salon.

Benefits of the Red Stamp of Approval

The Red Seal endorsement is recognized in Canada. Because it signifies higher standards have been met, employers look for it as an indication of the skill and competency level of potential employees.

Did you know?

In some trades uncertified individuals whose employers deem them to have the skills and competencies expected of a journeyperson are also authorized to perform restricted activities- hairstyling IS NOT one of them!

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LIST OF REFERENCES

Tradesecrets 2024, accessed 21 May 2024, <https://tradesecrets.alberta.ca/trades-in-alberta/learn-about-designated-trades>.

Tradesecrets 2024, accessed 21 May 2024, <https://tradesecrets.alberta.ca/trades-in-alberta/profiles/0424>.

Tradesecrets 2024, accessed 21 May 2024, <https://tradesecrets.alberta.ca/trades-in-alberta/profiles/0424/scope-of-profession/#restricted>.

Tradesecrets 2024, accessed 21 May 2024, <https://tradesecrets.alberta.ca/become-certified/interprovincial-red-seal/>.

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EXECUTIVE SPA GROUP 
Beauty Industry Resource Centre 
(780) 604-2772 
info@executivespagroup.com

What is the difference between licensed and accredited beauty training?

Licensed beauty trainers have been vetted by the appropriate governmental bodies. Licensed programs are monitored to ensure they provide students with quality training that meets industry standards. Licensing also ensures student rights and money are protected because they must follow a set of standards. Licensing is synonymous with accreditation in the sense that they are vetted by the appropriate governmental bodies.

On the other hand, designated beauty programs have been licensed to teach, plus more. They have been deemed eligible to participate in government student loan funding. Also, accredited beauty programs can accept international students.

Are all beauty industry programs accredited and/or licensed in Alberta, Canada?

When it comes to esthetics and other specializations that would fall under esthetics, for example, lash extensions, the sad truth is most are not. Esthetics is not regulated in Alberta, Canada. As a result, many estheticians or other beauty experts unknowingly share their knowledge without having the proper license to teach.

Cosmetology is licensed however. This results in enough options of licensed and accredited training providers to choose from.

What about unlicensed beauty courses or programs?

Beauty programs and courses by unlicensed beauty trainers are not necessarily worse in quality. In fact, licensing bodies are very clear that licensing is not an endorsement of any particular trainer or program. However, it is also very clear that licensed beauty programs are vetted to an extreme by their licensing bodies.

There is a positive aspect to unlicensed trainers: They keep the costs of training down. Make sure you do the vetting if you are going to receive training from an unlicensed beauty trainer. Like we stated above, ‘unlicensed’ is not synonymous with ‘worse’.

Benefits of Licensed and Accredited Beauty Training

Licensing provides many advantages for training providers, for the students who graduate from your courses and programs, and industries themselves.

It’s pretty clear how accreditation benefits students; They attend a school that offers payment options.  As for the beauty industry, employers benefit when they hire graduates from licensed schools that they can trust. When schools produce well-trained students, the quality level in the industry overall rises.

Consumer protection

Students can take their complaints to the governing body and find a resolution. Unlike attending a course that is not licensed, the most the student can do is leave a negative review on yelp!

An added incentive for students related to consumer protection is that licensed trainers often help them find jobs as part of the licensing agreement. Last year, 79% of licensed trainers helped graduates find jobs as part of their training.

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EXECUTIVE SPA GROUP

Beauty Industry Resources

Occupations and Regulations by Province

The path you need to take to become an accredited beauty trainer in Canada depends on your province of residence and your beauty occupation. Canadian provinces differ in their regulation of certain occupations in the beauty industry.

Start by informing yourself of the regulations (if any) mandated by the designated regulatory bodies of your chosen occupation.

For example, trade certification for hairstylists is compulsory in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and available, but voluntary, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, British Columbia, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (Work BC, 2024).

On the other hand, only Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick regulate esthetics (Government of Canada, Job Bank, Labour Market Information, 2024).

Accreditation by province

In addition, Canadian provinces differ in their requirements when it comes to granting accreditation status to beauty training providers.

For example, Alberta has no shortage of beauty trainers in occupations within esthetics. Examples include nail instructors, PMU instructors, lash extension instructors, etc. This may be due to the fact that esthetics is not regulated in Alberta. However, in a sea of instructors few of them are accredited.

What does accreditation mean?

Accreditation provides you with the ability to offer your students government student loans. In addition, it gives you the ability as a trainer to accept international students. Providing students with government loan options opens up your training possibilities.

Beyond offering student loans, it means that your curriculum has been reviewed by industry peers and has received a “stamp of approval” that potential students can trust. It also means that your students have dispute resolution opportunities with your accreditation body. This is an added-bonus to students.

To become an accredited beauty trainer in your province in Canada, contact your provincial government and associated regulatory bodies for your occupation to know the specific requirements. For beauty trainers in Alberta, Canada, we offer a short online course outlining the requirements and exemptions to accreditation.

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LIST OF REFERENCES

Work BC 2024, accessed 25 April 2024, <https://www.workbc.ca/career-profiles/hairstylists-and-barbers#:~:text=Trade%20certification%20for%20hairstylists%20is,the%20Northwest%20Territories%20and%20Nunavut>.

Canada Job Bank, 2024, accessed 25 April 2024, <https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/requirements/14034/ca;jsessionid=EADE65F4F88B3AF81DB8AA6A54DD6092.jobsearch76>.

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EXECUTIVE SPA GROUP 
Beauty Industry Resource Centre 
(780) 604-2772 
info@executivespagroup.com

Who are we?

We are Career and Employment Consultants who specialize in the Beauty and Personal Care Services industry in Alberta, Canada. Our mission is to cultivate the Personal Care Services industry and increase the standard in employment practices and occupational health and safety.

We help people overcome barriers to employment and develop skills, knowledge, and work experience needed to participate in the labour market either directly through employment or self-employment

Our free online resources can help your answer questions regarding training & education, employment, self employment, and hiring staff.

Years of experience

Our Career and Employment Consultants have teamed up with Beauty Service Professionals to truly understand the needs of the beauty industry in Alberta. As a result, we have created a repertoire of online service to help Albertans find beauty industry resources.

Combined, we have 40+ years of experience to help you address many beauty industry career and employment matters.

Resources to overcome barriers

We have the expertise to work with people from diverse backgrounds. Employment barriers come in all shapes and sizes, therefore, we have networks of people who specialize in all types of barriers.

The main goal of Executive Spa Group is to create an environment where Albertans can pursue their passion in light of employability issues that could potentially derail them from achieving their goals.

Service Providers

Online resources for Service Providers include our online job bank. Beauty job seekers can use our job bank to help them find employment opportunities in Alberta, Canada. It is updated multiple times per week to help you connect with employers in a timely fashion. Plus, find resume and cover letter templates online to help advance your job search.

On the other hand, if you are not a job seeker, and instead are a “course-seeker”, we have resources for that as well! We have compiled a list of beauty industry training providers in Alberta (and Canada wide for online learning) called 411 Training Directory.

In addition, our online blog is full of articles to answer questions regarding employment disputes, starting a beauty business, becoming a beauty educator, plus more!

Entrepreneurs

Small business owners make up a large piece of the beauty industry ‘pie’ in Alberta, Canada. Many people find it an attractive option when it comes to their livelihoods. It is common to see people grow a successful beauty business from a single, short technical training course.

Online beauty industry resources for entrepreneurs can be found in our blog articles. These include articles on how to plan and execute your business idea, plus information on licenses and permits required for your new beauty business.

Employers

For some people, the next step after opening their own salon or spa is hiring staff. While this is a great achievement that deserves recognition, it does come with unenviable challenges. Picking the right people for your team and keeping them happy requires mental effort and a bit of luck!

Online resources for employers include our beauty job bank to help you find the ideal candidate. Because we specialize in beauty jobs, our job bank is attentive to the specific needs of Alberta’s beauty industry employers.

In addition, our online articles provide guidance on accessing any available grants to train new employees. On that note, here’s hoping you are able to create a great team! However, we also share resources with employers for when the work environment isn’t doing very well.

Beauty Educators

Some people are teachers at heart. If training others is your passion, our online resources include our free online 411 Training Directory to help you fill your classes. This directory is available to all Albertans searching for beauty courses in hair, esthetics, and massage therapy. Contact us by email to add your course to our directory.

Also, our online Beauty Educator courses help you prepare a curriculum that meets industry standards plus ensure that you meet any licensing requirements and permits.

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EXECUTIVE SPA GROUP
(780) 604-2772
info@executivespagroup.com

Is there a difference in the terminology?

Over the years government branches, such as Alberta Education, change their names and their program names to encompass changes within their organizational missions and goals.

Student aid has been known as student finance in the past, but within this umbrella term of “student aid” falls multiple methods of financial assistance for students such as loans and grants.

Government assistance to pay for your beauty studies

In Canada, both provincial and federal governments work together to help people access post high school education. Beauty studies is one of the many fields supported by government student aid. However, relatively few training providers offer student loans. The reason for this ultimately comes down to esthetics not being a regulated industry in Alberta.

Is regulation a good thing?

This depends on who you ask. Not being regulated means that there is no governing body to guide us as a whole. It means freedom, but can there be too much freedom?

On the other hand, cosmetology is a regulated industry in Alberta. They have a governing body that oversees all hairstylists, salons, and training providers in Alberta. If you’re looking for student loans to pay for cosmetology school, you’re in luck! Because cosmetology is regulated, many training providers in Alberta will be regulated. This often means that they will be able to offer government loans to students in full time and part time programs. It also means that there won’t be too many trainers to choose from, because becoming a cosmetology trainer is a long process due to regulation.

Unlike cosmetology, esthetics training providers do not have rules to follow. As a result, it’s very easy to become an esthetics trainer and the selection becomes overwhelming. In cosmetology, a governing body determines you have met the requirements to call yourself a trainer. In esthetics, the trainer themselves determines that they have met any requirements to call themselves a trainer.

Loans, grants, and repayment

As mentioned earlier, if hairstyling is your dream career, there is definitely government student aid available to you. However, if you want to learn an esthetics skill, such as skincare or microblading, student financial aid will be hard to come by. Federal government assistance is available for full time esthetics programs only, while provincial funds are available for some part time studies. You must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible.

Loans

Loans are available for programs that will result in a certificate at participating beauty educators. Loans must be paid back after completion. If you do not finish your studies you’re still responsible for paying the loan you accepted thus far.

Grants

Grants are often given as a supplement to the loan to students that meet certain criteria, amongst them, low income students or students with disabilities. Usually grants do not have to be repaid. However, you should be advised that grants are repayable if you drop out of your program or if your eligibility changes in the middle of the training program. So don’t be a beauty school dropout!

EXECUTIVE SPA GROUP