As unemployment figures proceed their rise, one business has confirmed to be resilient: cosmetology. In accordance with Empire Magnificence Faculties, the nation’s largest supplier of cosmetology training, extra persons are searching for to pursue cosmetology than ever earlier than. Over the past 12 months, Empire has seen a increase in enrollment of 33 p.c on common nationwide, with some places seeing pupil enrollment double.

In accordance with Franklin Okay. Schoeneman, CEO of Empire, a lot of Empire’s college students attended faculty, however left after they felt faculty wouldn’t put together them for the workforce. Different college students have turned to cosmetology as a second profession selection, in search of the inventive outlet and stability that the career affords.

Funding for post-secondary training within the financial stimulus bundle, together with elevated Pell grants and work examine alternatives, has additional fueled the expansion in cosmetology training. The stimulus additionally elevated the HOPE tax credit score to $2,500 per 12 months. Households incomes lower than $160,000 yearly could now declare the HOPE tax credit for 4 years, reasonably than two.

Tammy Giles, a 39-year-old Empire Magnificence Faculty pupil primarily based in Michigan, has a standard story. After being laid off from her job as a retail gross sales supervisor and exhausting all of her unemployment, she needed to pursue a brand new career. Tammy had all the time been focused on cosmetology, so she got down to get her license, feeling assured within the employment alternatives it will provide. “Everybody wants to look good,” stated Giles. “You save your money, even in hard times, and you spend it on what you think is important.”

In accordance with the most recent figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists ought to enhance by 12 p.c. Many now minimize and magnificence each males’s and girls’s hair, and the demand for hair remedy by teenagers and ageing child boomers is anticipated to stay regular or develop. “The great thing about cosmetology is that it is one job that can’t be outsourced,” stated Schoeneman.

To study extra, go to the Empire Magnificence Faculties Site at www.empire.edu.