Hairdressing Apprentice

Apprenticeships in Hairdressing and Barbering, offer both the student and salon owner a way forward in training unskilled workers.

The benefits for the Student is a pledge, and framework, from the work placement provider to place them in a safe learning environment that will enhance their learning.

The benefits to a salon owner is that they will have a student that will be monitored by the apprenticeship provider, and also have a trainee that will not cost the salon owner too much in payment investment.

The area I would like to make understood is the urgency in learning.  I have seen over many years trainees being taken on and thinking they have a job for 2 to 3 years. The urgency to learn is almost taken away, although they are monitored, it is the more mundane jobs in the 1st weeks that will take priority, jobs such as sweeping and tidying up, greeting clients, making tea’s and coffee’s, shampooing, organising the towels, making sure the towels are clean and placed in the right area.

The second phase of learning comes with reception duties, answering the phone, booking clients, mixing tints and possibly applying some of the easier techniques.  As time moves on the colouring applications will get more complicated, but they will be trained in these techniques and become an integral part of the salons operation.

This is the time that I see no progression in the up and coming stylist, the salon owners have got them to a position that suits their needs, but the lack of training to push them forward to the next phase of learning, seems to get forgotten or at least put onto a back-burner, this limbo state, can suit the salon owner, the are getting the most out of their apprentice, and only paying a nominal sum to them in wages.

This is where the urgency of learning has to really kick in, you have to put yourself out, and others if need be, to learn the cutting part of your hairdressing education.  It will require a large amount of effort, but this is the part that will take you from an improver with little solitary skills to that of a junior stylist.

Once you have attained these skills, you will then have stand alone skills that do not tie you to a single hair salon.  The power of your learning program has changed emphasis, from the salon owner have the power of knowledge to you, having full power of your education.  Of course if your experience at the salon you have worked at has been a good one then you can happily stay there and reap the benefits of better pay and working conditions, but you now have the choice of doing or going anywhere you please.

Pushing yourself and the people who train you is very important, I cannot stress this enough, I have seen many improver’s stagnate, and not end up with any real skills they can take forward to another salon, these people normally move out of hairdressing due to different circumstances, poor pay, or working conditions, not feeling they are progressing, leaving the student with a regret that they have never completed their training, and have had to move on to another career.

So my top tip is to push through your training and complete it as soon as possible and develop an urgency of learning.

I would like to share some tips on how to cut hair, especially if you are starting off new to hairdressing.

Lately I have noticed a few, new and up and coming stylist making a little mistake, and I would like to help you not to make the same mistake.

On the consultation it is ideal if you can picture the hairstyle a client is describing, and ask all the questions you need to make that picture as clear as possible.  Getting all the details as you can will help you assess exactly what a client is asking for, sometimes a client will actually bring in a picture, but make sure your understanding of it is the same as the clients, I have been amazed to hear the different views a client has on a picture.

I once made a big mistake, a client showed me a picture and said that they wanted their haircut just like the picture, no problem and off I began. After I had finished the haircut, the client said it was not really like the picture, confused, I looked at the picture and began talking her through the haircut, relating it to the picture. after a little while she stopped me and said, no not that picture, I was looking at the main picture on the page, she said it was this picture a smaller one on the same page she had not taken the time to point the picture out at it certainly was not the obvious picture, ah well, I did not do that again.

Another misinterpretation I have come across is, I have seen clients bring in a picture of a layer haircut and I will talk them through it and they will say, Yes, I want a Bob like this, and the picture clearly is not a Bob.

So my tip is have the same understanding of the haircut that your client wants you to do.  The junior stylist I have seen of late are still asking question part way through the haircut, and it is not very professional.  Ask you questions have a clear picture of the haircut, and then get on with it.

Good luck with your hairdressing.

John Mcloughlin.