COVID-19 TIMES: Online Education is a Boon

Since March 2020, India has been impacted by the deadly Coronavirus. The beauty industry was hit hardest because of the nature of work and resultantly, several salons and spas had to face closure. The segment which saw smooth sailing was online education, as now the academies used various platforms as an opportunity to address more students and include more courses

ASK ACADEMY

MELISSA HUGHE, NATIONAL TECHNICAL HEAD, SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL

Effect of the pandemic on your academy: The pandemic has positively accelerated the digital transformation of our educational offerings and increased our outreach manifold. It has allowed us to reach out to hairstylists based in the remote corners of our country, facilitating access and helping us even connect with them across the globe. This has replaced our brick and mortar academy usage and physical training to virtual webinars and live streaming sessions.

Effect of the pandemic on students: Students have had to learn the new language of this digital world and adjust their learning methods. The key criterion for students is to maintain focus and balance time between work and study.

Alternate form of teaching: ASK Academy has been conducting webinars, live streaming sessions, face-to-face visits and in-salon trainings.

Finding success: We have experienced a successful and agile adaptation of the new methods by both our internal team and students who have now learnt to function eficiently in the new normal.

Challenges being faced: While we have adapted well to the new methods, there are constant challenges that need to be met with to make our practices more engaging, more interactive and more relevant to the times. Since large gatherings are still a restriction, training dissemination techniques have evolved and continue as Phygital trainings (part physical, part digital) with smaller groups.