Informal beauty and wellness practitioners, including those who have acquired skills through apprenticeship and other forms of informal training, will have the opportunity to pursue higher education in paramedical trichology from the next academic year in 2027 at the Accra Technical University (ATU)
The move follows a partnership between ATU and Abrantie College through which they have launched a Paramedical Trichology programme.
Through a structured tertiary education, graduates from the programme will be awarded a Higher National Diploma (HND).
The Level 5 competency-based qualification, developed under the guidance of the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET) and the Beauty and Wellness Sector Skills Body, represents a landmark shift in the health, wellness, and beauty educational landscape.
The three-year tertiary course will help to bridge the critical gap between traditional cosmetology and medical trichology.
It provides a formal academic progression route for cosmetologists and beauty practitioners who previously lacked higher education pathways in their specialised field.
The industry-driven curriculum will equip students with scientific foundations and practical competencies to enable them analyse scalp conditions, deliver non-medical interventions, and identify cases requiring advanced medical care.
Stakeholders, academic heads, regulatory agencies, and industry partners gathered at the media launch of the programme on Thursday (August 27, 2026).
Academia, industry synergy
Speaking at the media launch, the Vice-Chancellor of ATU, Prof. Amevi Acakpovi, said the university was committed to developing programmes that responded to changing industry and societal needs.
He said the university could not continue training young people only for traditional occupations while new professions and economic opportunities were emerging.
Prof. Acakpovi said the HND Paramedical Trichology programme would bring together science, health, beauty and wellness, technology and professional practice to respond to an emerging demand in the scientific study and management of hair and scalp conditions.
He said for many years, practitioners in the area had depended largely on informal training, short courses or knowledge acquired through experience, creating the need for a structured academic and professional pathway.
He said ATU would provide academic, scientific and quality assurance capabilities, while Abrantie College would contribute practical experience and industry knowledge in the beauty and wellness sector.
Prof. Acakpovi encouraged prospective students to look beyond the traditional perception of beauty and wellness as being limited to cosmetology.
He said the programme was fundamentally concerned with the hair and scalp, which formed part of the skin, and the conditions affecting them.
Prof. Acakpovi also called for the establishment of a professional body to regulate the sector and uphold standards of competence, ethics and professionalism.
Pathway
For his part, the Head of Abrantie College, Brian Obempong, said the partnership with ATU was driven by the need to create a progression pathway for practitioners in the beauty and wellness industry.
He said the sector had for many years been perceived as a field for people with little or no formal education, with training often ending at a lower level and making it difficult for practitioners to attain tertiary qualifications.
Mr Obempong said the situation had been a concern for the management of Abrantie College, particularly after the institution had trained and graduated more than 8,000 cosmetologists over a period of 10 years.
He questioned how those graduates could continue their education when there was no clear academic pathway within their field.
He said the experience of fashion and hospitality, where graduates had been able to progress to higher education, demonstrated that beauty and wellness could also have a similar pathway.
Ministry welcomes programme
Speaking on behalf of the Deputy Minister for Education, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, the Director of TVET, Rejoice Danquah, said the Ministry of Education welcomed the programme as a new opportunity for professionals in the beauty and wellness sector.
She said the journey to the HND programme began with the question of how to create a meaningful pathway for professionals in the sector to progress academically and professionally.
Ms Danquah said research, collaboration and innovation had led to the development of the programme, which had now become an accredited Level 5 qualification under Ghana’s National TVET Qualifications Framework.
She commended ATU, Abrantie College, CTVET, the Beauty and Wellness Sector Skills Body, LG Consult and other experts and stakeholders who contributed to the development and accreditation of the programme.
Ms Danquah said the Ministry remained committed to a TVET system in which there were no dead ends, but pathways for progression and lifelong learning.
More programmes
The Secretary of the Beauty and Wellness Sector Skills Body, Winnifred Dake, who spoke on behalf of its Chairperson, Dr Grace Amey-Obeng, said the launch marked an important moment for the country’s beauty and wellness industry.
She said the HND Paramedical Trichology programme was not simply a new course but evidence that the industry was developing the educational progression it had needed for many years.
Ms Dake said many practitioners in hair technology, cosmetology, beauty therapy, spa therapy and related areas had completed their initial programmes with limited opportunities to progress academically in their fields.
She said the development of programmes in paramedical trichology, paramedical aesthetics, health and wellness, and beauty products manufacturing represented a shift in the educational landscape of the sector.
The goal, she said, was to create an industry where apprentices could enter at the foundational level and progress to higher qualifications, specialisations, entrepreneurship, research and leadership without having to leave Ghana to advance their careers.
