For US trade students, online classes can’t replicate hands-on

Schall poses outside her cosmetology school, Casal Aveda Institute, in Austintown, Ohio. More than eight million students in the US are enrolled in technical colleges, seeking certification in skilled trades like welding, phlebotomy and cosmetology. But unlike students at traditional colleges, their learning can't easily translate into Zoom courses, they learn through hands-on demonstrations. Now, many are eager to get back into the classroom, and some are reeling because they won't get to graduate on time. — AP

PHOENIX: Like students across the US, Christa Schall was working toward graduation when the coronavirus closed her school. But unlike many, she can’t finish her classes online – her cosmetology programme, like the coursework at many technical and trade schools, requires hands-on training.

Schall needs to cut, paint and style hair at the Aveda Institute in Ohio to graduate and get her license to practice, but weeks of closures have put her behind. Her last client, a woman who got her highlights retouched every two weeks, panicked when she learned the salon was closing after her mid-March appointment. Schall had her own moment of panic, realising her life would be on hold. Now, instead of graduating in September, she must wait until spring.