Background

Pre- pandemic we had a flutter of ‘online’ courses pop up in various sectors within the industry as a collective, but in person was still widely favoured with delegates often travelling miles to reach a good educator. 

When the pandemic hit, and our industry shut down, educators and academies far and wide took to the online world and embraced its potential, some would say without fully looking at the consequences of this learning method. Therapists and technicians across the country jumped onboard for the opportunity to learn during the lockdowns and upskill ready for reopening dates.

If safe to say this area boomed over 2020/2021. Online learning for a large proportion of skills had been temporarily accepted by accreditation companies and awarding bodies alike.

In 2022 we saw a shift again, many accreditation bodies and awarding bodies returned to the normal delivery modes, with a few continuing to support online courses under guidelines or certain skills. Delegates began to return to face to face training. 

Over the last year we have seen insurance companies refuse to insure online courses or courses not within their recommended list of providers. Alongside this the impending changes to aesthetics and advanced treatments as part of the Health & Care Law amendments passed in 2022, in which we await the final regulatory processes and procedures. 

To answer that, you need to look at the intended outcome you wish to seek, what exactly do you need from this course? How will you benefit from this? And will it be enough to satisfy insurance but also your physical capabilities of providing safe client treatments?

In my opinion there are 3 main categories that we can break down online courses into.

• Online 

• Virtual 

• Blended Learning 

Online is no interaction with a tutor at all during the learning process beyond automated welcome or log in emails. The delivery of the course content will usually be watching a video or downloading a manual to read, sometimes a link to YouTube for the demonstration (which may not be the course tutors work either). 

This type of course is fantastic for skills extensions and enhancing what you already have, it will be something you are already competent in and qualified in the foundations of the skill. It will be teaching you skills refinement or something you can keep replicating until competency is achieved. It will have not detrimental effects on client safety or health nor the treatment results if performed incorrectly. Courses such as nail art, advanced nail enhancements work, lash mapping techniques, competition work, advent guard, additions to facials for example. 

Online should be the side dishes to your menu, not the main meal.

Virtual learning provides interaction with the tutor over the internet in some shape or form, usually a zoom or skype session, where a video view can clearly display the demonstration of that particular skill. Ideally this works well with an over the top demo for skills such as nails, lashes, facial work in general but this also relies on the tutor having the same view of each learner to supply feedback. This works best with skills enhancement courses where the therapist or technician is already competent in the main skill or just delivery of the theory before a practical day on site works particularly well with. 

Often videos and manual downloads are sent afterwards to support the learning or within a platform of some description, case studies are quite common forms of assessment with this type of course to prove competency. 

It allows you a level of interaction with the tutor that you do not get from an online course, you are able to ask questions, ask for steps to be repeated and most importantly receive feedback on your work in real time. This type of course can benefit those who are time poor or who have anxiety about being in a room full of others learners. 

Again this is not ideal for a brand new skill to you or something that is advanced that hand positioning is key and may need tutor adjustment for client safety.

Blended learning can be a mix of the above or one but is completed prior to the face to face learning taking place. It can be performed in a virtual manner over a zoom/skype call, usually with a manual for the theory section supplied or in an online platform that provides videos, links, downloads, or manuals to work through before the practical sessions.

The aims of this type of learning is to deliver the foundation knowledge prior to the hands on aspect of the course, enabling the learner to break down the learning into bite sized chunks and then go on to consolidate that learning within the practical training. It is important to understand that this may still not suit every type of learner and it will depend upon how it is delivered, for example, how interactive the platform is as to its efficiency but it has scope to perform well. 

• Decide on the outcome and end result which is needed. If it’s a brand-new skill and foundation learning it should take place in person. If it’s a skills enhancement, is this a method I prefer to learn in?

• Look through your insurance policy, does this dictate how learning must take place? Will it allow for some online/virtual work?

• Ask the provider, if it’s not visible, how the learning will take place. Will it be videos? A virtual call? YouTube clip? Reading a manual? Face to face?

• Most importantly, ask how it will be assessed. How will your competence be verified? A case study, an examination in theory or practical or both? A video case study? Face to face?

• Who accredits or awards the certificates/course? Under what circumstances will the professional body allow a video call? Does the accreditation company only allow some online or virtual courses for certain skills? Are they working within the guidelines given?

• Check the course is still endorsed by that provider and that they haven’t let that lapse or failed to renew, or the course could be deemed invalid.

• What is the refund policy if you find the course is unsuitable?

• Is there a complaint procedure if you are unhappy with parts or the whole course?

• Is there an appeals procedure if you disagree with the outcome of an assessment?

• What support is in place if you struggle to complete the work? Is there a timeline for case studies? And payment to extend beyond the initial timescales?

• Is there any community support? Such as Facebook groups, WhatsApp chats?

• What equipment will be needed and where can this be purchased from? Are these reputable suppliers?

Online courses in its many varieties clearly have positives, if they are marketed with integrity and contain the same level of quality as in person courses, they can be a great asset to our industry and your business. 

It is down to us as the consumer, whilst this is an unregulated area, to shop wisely and question deeper when purchasing the courses, press further to get the answers that we need for clarification to ensure that we are getting the right course for us in the right way. 

There will always be substandard courses available if we continue to buy them, we must educate our new to industry colleagues and support them in finding suitable courses, in addition we need to educate and demonstrate to our clientele that we undertake professional courses with attainable outcomes that support client health and quality services.