Makeup Ghana, an advocate for the beauty industry, has been granted funding from the Ghana Skills Development Fund (GSDF) to develop a new curriculum for a Higher National Diploma (HND) Makeup Artistry programme. The move paves the way for industry experts and stakeholders to begin the process of creating a curriculum for HND in Makeup Artistry and establish a standardised training programme and specialisation in the makeup sub-sector of the beauty and wellness industry to boost job creation. Designing a comprehensive curriculum is crucial to equipping aspiring makeup artists with the education and expertise they need to thrive in their field and meet the ever-increasing demands of the rapidly growing cosmetics sector. This marks a historic milestone for Ghana, as such a programme has never been established before. In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, Ms. Rebecca Donkor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Makeup Ghana, expressed delight about the new development, noting that it was set to revolutionise Ghana’s makeup industry and produce highly skilled professionals ready to make their mark in the beauty world. This is because the move would improve the expertise and proficiency of aspiring makeup artists in the country and guarantee that they receive top-notch education and training that meets both local and international standards. Ms Donkor further shared the background that led to the successful securing of funding support for the development of the HND in makeup artistry. In 2018, she said, Makeup Ghana launched the Standardisation Project, aimed at promoting standards within Ghana’s beauty industry. The project adopted a comprehensive three-pronged approach, encompassing certification and licensing, a code of practice, and product certification. By targeting all key stakeholders, including practitioners, brands, and retailers, the project sought to establish a framework for standardisation, beginning with the implementation of certification and licensing measures. In a significant development, she said, the completion of the initial certification and licensing pathway has been achieved with the support of the Skills Development Fund (SDF) and the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), now known as Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET). This milestone was reached during the years 2019 and 2020. Ghana’s National TVET Qualification Framework now includes Level 3-National Certificate 1 in Makeup Artistry-and Level 3-National Certificate 2, which were established in collaboration with the industry. Although this was a significant achievement for such a new sub-sector as makeup, Ms. Donkor noted that the task was not complete. Therefore, a higher-level programme was necessary due to the demand for more depth in specialisation training, to fight an oversaturation of lower-level trained makeup artists, and to comply with technical rules within the National TVET Qualification Framework. In light of this, Makeup Ghana applied to GSDF, a subcomponent of the Ghana Jobs and Skill Project (GSJP) implemented by CTVET, citing the need for higher-paying and more specialised makeup artistry jobs, which will be made possible by a Level 5 TVET programme. The concept was then approved as a demand-driven challenge fund to continue job creation in this fast-growing, woman-driven subsector. The CEO noted: ‘The hallmark of a progressive sector is recognising bottlenecks hampering growth early. Saturation in Certificate 1-trained Makeup Artists has led to unhealthy competition with low-priced services. ‘We needed a path to grow the number of Certificate 2-trained makeup professionals and, more importantly, a path for specialisation for more lucrative work opportunities and faster job growth.’ He also described the HND programme as the path to facilitate that demand and expressed gratitude to the funder and regulator. ‘We are grateful to GSDF and CTVET for their support. We are also extremely grateful to our industry practitioners and other stakeholders for dedicating their time, knowledge, and resources to this national assignment,’ she said. She added: ‘The makeup industry is pioneering an HND programme in the beauty and wellness sector, and we look forward to this spurring on more such initiatives.’
Source: Ghana News Agency
