Never Stop Learning: Four Ways for Continuing Education

Whether you’re still in training at Creative Images Institute of Cosmetology or you have already started your career as a hairstylist, nail technician or esthetician, we’d like to take a moment to stress the importance of always continuing to add ammunition to your skill and your brand through continuing education opportunities. Here are a few reasons why:

Licensing is an obvious one. The state of Ohio requires licensed beauty professionals to complete eight hours of applicable continuing education courses every two years in order to renew their licenses. This is to ensure that industry professionals stay up-to-date on all safety hazards, new techniques, and state regulations. But the benefits of continuing education go far beyond maintaining your credentials.

If you’re the type of person who dreads the mundane, day in and day out schedule (which most of us in this industry are), looking at a career 5-10 years down the road may seem a bit daunting. As humans, our brains and bodies were built for change and to adapt to it. Luckily, the beauty industry is an industry that is constantly changing between new product launches, service demands, and on a smaller scale, your clients. Continuing education allows for us to easily adapt to the next beauty curve ball coming our way and keeps our passion alive and on its toes.

Also, with all of the high-end certifications available between eyelash extensions, microblading, permanent makeup, and hair extensions, just to name a few, clients will pay top dollar for an artist who invests in themselves. All of these services were nonexistent even 5 years ago which goes to show how much this industry is constantly growing. Stay ahead of the game and take advantage of these high demand certifications because the payouts will not only build your repertoire but also your wallet.

And last but not least: when you pack your resume with extra educational credits and certifications, you’ll have infinite advantage over the competition when it comes time to asking for that promotion or seeking a new position at your dream salon or spa. Like your clients, employers like an artist who knows how to invest in themselves and their business because it shows their passion and determination for the industry. The safest bet you can ever make is one you make in yourself.

“But where do I find these learning opportunities?” you may ask. We’ve put together a list of suggestions to get you started:

Special Guest Speakers

At Creative Images Institute of Cosmetology, we regularly invite industry professionals and educators to share their insights with our students. For example, this past year, Tabatha Coffey (of Tabatha Takes Over on Bravo) visited our school to chat with students and local industry pros about her career journey and advice on marketing and promotion. She also talked about the importance of continuously pushing yourself and getting comfortable with the uncomfortable, which included choosing the right continuing education opportunities.

Creative Images also requires students to attend monthly product knowledge lectures with Matrix representatives as well as demonstrations by product educators from high-end beauty brands. This allows for our students to not only expand on their knowledge base but it also gives them an opportunity to work with industry professionals outside of the school. You may also want to keep an eye on our event calendar for upcoming extended training courses on trending techniques and tools.

Free CE Courses

On occasion, Creative Images Institute of Cosmetology hosts free courses for our students and local licensed professionals where they can earn some of the CE hours necessary for licensing. Last month, we hosted a course on ‘Our Beauty Industry Through the Ages,’ for which attendees with a working license in cosmetology and esthetics earned four CE credits towards their next license renewal. This course went over where the industry is, where it is going, and how as companies and individuals we need to adjust to it to stay ahead. Watch the event calendar for more opportunities to earn credits in 2020.

Internships

As a student at Creative Images, we also encourage you to take advance of our internship opportunity with local salons and spas while still earning school credit. Students who participate in our internship program attend classes on campus three or four days a week and intern on their days off. While an internship is not required to graduate beauty school, we highly recommend it. You’ll get valuable real-world experience and have an advantage when it comes time to seek your first beauty industry job. As a staff, we believe that everything cannot be taught from a book which is why we provide outside opportunities for our students to actually get their hands dirty and work with industry professionals outside of our campuses. Most people do not realize that aside from a cosmetology school, we also are a fully functioning salon and spa for the same reason why an industry that is so hands-on cannot be solely taught from what you read on white pages. At Creative Images, our goal is obviously to build a strong foundation for our artists and prepare them for the real world as much as possible which is why we offer outside learning.

Beauty Shows

Every year, dozens of beauty shows are held around the country. One such event is America’s Beauty Show, which is held in Chicago in the spring. Last March, Creative Images organized charter bus transportation and overnight accommodations for students and educators who wanted to attend. It was an unbeatable experience, with the opportunity to meet celebrity hairstylists and colorists, skin care experts, and nail geniuses. Attendees were also able mingle with high-end brand representatives, and participate in classes and workshops with some of the industry’s best educators. A few of our students also earned the chance to show off their skill backstage at Matrix’s runway show while others got to participate in the show as hair models, volunteering their hair to test the industries newest products and colors, performed by some of the beauty world’s elite.

Whether you choose to attend America’s Beauty Show with us in 2020, check out one of the smaller shows in Cleveland or Indianapolis, or travel to New York or Los Angeles for the biggest conferences, we encourage you to add a beauty show or two to your calendar each year. They’re a great way to learn about new products and product lines, meet industry moguls, learn new skills, and even earn continuing education credits.

If you’re interested in learning more in what we’re all about, give us a call at 888-569-2421 or check out our home page!

By Angela Rose for Creative Images Institute of Cosmetology