Middletown Home To CT's First-Ever Cosmetology Apprenticeship Program

MIDDLETOWN, CT – When Jessica Dudley wanted to start an apprenticeship program for cosmetology, she saw what was available and felt it didn’t fit what she had in mind—her solution to develop an apprenticeship program not only for herself but for others to use as well.

Dudley, the owner of Jessica’s Color Room, has launched Connecticut’s First-Ever Cosmetology Registered Apprenticeship program.

Todd Berch, Connecticut Department of Labor Director of the Officer Apprenticeship Training, said he applauds Jessica’s Color Room for taking a comprehensive approach to developing and investing in next-generation employees.

“Registered Apprenticeships are the gold standard for workforce training. With a combination of on-the-job training and classroom education, Registered Apprentices leave the program ready for licensing exams and with credentials that make them masters of their craft,” he said.

Dudley said they had an in-house apprenticeship program before she created the cosmetology program, but instead of their license saying cosmetology, it said barbering.”

“My goal was to provide a license that read cosmetology,” she said. “Barbering is clipper cuts, and with a cosmetology license, they can work with chemicals to color, highlight, balayage, correct color and clipper cuts. If you only have a barbering license, you are limited to haircuts.”

What drove Dudley to develop an apprenticeship program was when her stepdaughter Madison Dudley told her she wanted to become a cosmetologist.

“Also, after being in business for 21 years, I see the challenge with students going to traditional hair styling schools because when they come out, we have to train them anyway,” she said. “So, I saw it was a great opportunity to train them from the beginning, so they didn’t have any bad habits, and I find it easier if they do all their hours here.”

Madison is now a participant in the first-ever cosmetology registered apprenticeship with Jessica’s Color Room Salon, and she said it has been a great experience so far.

“I like it because I like to learn hands-on and see how people do it and learn that way,” she said. “I don’t learn well sitting in a classroom. I like to have someone by my side showing me how to do it so I can learn and do it better.”

Madison has been in the program for three weeks, and she’s learned new techniques in those three weeks.

“I can shampoo, I can do updos and do a lot more than I thought I could do in only three weeks,” she said.

Another problem Dudley saw is that when students go to a traditional school, they don’t have enough time to work afterward.

“After they graduate from school, they didn’t have any experience at all, and we would have to retrain them,” she said. “So, I thought this was a great opportunity for them to get their hours and get paid simultaneously, and they are ready when they graduate.”

Dudley said the difference between a hairstyling school and an apprenticeship program is that the school requires 1500 hours to graduate, and the apprenticeship program requires 2000 hours to graduate.

“If I went through a school instead of doing the program, I would have to pay about 26,000,” Madison said. “I would be there for about a year and a half, but here I have to do a little bit more hours but overall, it’s less time, and I get paid hourly. That’s huge.”

Dudley said she came up with a curriculum any salon can follow if they want to participate in the cosmetology registered apprenticeship program, which includes how many hours participants must do for each type of service.

“I enjoy being the first person in the program,” Madison said. “In a way, I’m helping Jessica develop and improve the program for others. Sometimes I’ll say that was a good lesson, but what about if you did it that way to improve it.”

“She’s helping perfect it,” Dudley said.

After completing the Cosmetology Registered Apprenticeship program, Madison said she intends to stay with Jessica’s Color Room and eventually branch out and open her own Jessica’s Color Room in the future.