Informal beauty and wellness practitioners, including those who have acquired their skills through apprenticeship and other informal training, will have the opportunity to pursue higher education in paramedical trichology from the 2027 academic year at the Accra Technical University (ATU).
The move follows a partnership between ATU and Abrantie College, through which the two institutions have launched a Paramedical Trichology programme. Graduates of the three-year tertiary course 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, marks a shift in the health, wellness and beauty education landscape. It is designed to bridge the gap between traditional cosmetology and medical trichology, providing a formal academic progression route for cosmetologists and beauty practitioners who previously had no higher education pathway in their field. The industry-driven curriculum will equip students with scientific foundations and practical competencies to analyse scalp conditions, deliver non-medical interventions and identify cases requiring advanced medical care.
Stakeholders, academic heads, regulatory agencies and industry partners gathered for the media launch of the programme on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
Speaking at the launch, the Vice-Chancellor of ATU, Prof Amevi Acakpovi, said the university was committed to developing programmes that respond to changing industry and societal needs, and could not continue training young people only for traditional occupations while new professions and economic opportunities emerge. He said the HND Paramedical Trichology programme brings together science, health, beauty and wellness, technology and professional practice to respond to growing demand in the scientific study and management of hair and scalp conditions. He explained that practitioners in the field had for years depended largely on informal training, short courses or experience-based knowledge, creating the need for a structured academic and professional pathway. Under the partnership, he said ATU would provide academic, scientific and quality assurance capabilities, while Abrantie College would contribute practical experience and industry knowledge. He encouraged prospective students to look beyond the traditional perception of beauty and wellness as limited to cosmetology, noting that the programme is fundamentally concerned with the hair and scalp, which form part of the skin, and the conditions affecting them. He also called for the establishment of a professional body to regulate the sector and uphold standards of competence, ethics and professionalism.
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 years been perceived as a field for people with little or no formal education, with training often ending at a lower level, making it difficult for practitioners to attain tertiary qualifications. He said this had been a longstanding concern for Abrantie College, particularly after the institution had trained and graduated more than 8,000 cosmetologists over a decade, leaving open the question of how those graduates could continue their education without a clear academic pathway within their field. He pointed to the experience of fashion and hospitality, where graduates had been able to progress to higher education, as proof that beauty and wellness could have a similar pathway.
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 that research, collaboration and innovation had led to its development as 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 stakeholders who contributed to the programme's development and accreditation, and said the ministry remained committed to a TVET system with no dead ends, but clear pathways for progression and lifelong learning.
The Secretary of the Beauty and Wellness Sector Skills Body, Winnifred Dake, speaking 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, noting that many practitioners in hair technology, cosmetology, beauty therapy, spa therapy and related areas had completed their initial programmes with limited opportunities to progress academically. She said the development of programmes in paramedical trichology, paramedical aesthetics, health and wellness, and beauty products manufacturing represented a shift in the sector's educational landscape, aimed at creating a system 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.
