What do I need to know about barbering as a career?
It involves dealing with people and it is an important part of the fashion industry, and involves using your creativity and imagination. It is a physically demanding job, spending long hours on your feet.
Your barbering apprenticeship will include learning barbering skills as well as skills such as giving change, marking up the stock, calculating GST, doing the banking, taking bookings over the phone, reading and understanding manufacturer's instructions, and talking with clients and product representatives.
Completing an apprenticeship and becoming a 'qualified barber' can lead to careers such as a barber shop owner/trainer, product demonstrator or salesperson, or a barbering tutor.
What are the benefits of an apprenticeship?
- You earn while you learn. An apprenticeship is the least costly training option so you won't need a large student loan.
- You will gain a nationally recognised qualification.
- Your employer will train you on-the-job and support you through off-job training.
- You are supported by the Sales & Liaison Manager in your region and the Hairdressing ITO National office.
- The Hairdressing ITO pays approx 75% of the cost of off-job training while you are an apprentice.
How do I get an apprenticeship?
You need two years' secondary/tertiary schooling and you will need to find an employer/barber shop who will take you on as an apprentice.
You can ask the Sales & Liaison Manager in your area if they know of any barber shops or salons that are looking for an apprentice, or you could check out the vacancies page of the HITO website www.hito.org.nz
What should I look for in a barber shop?
Go to your local barber shops or to places you think you would like to work. Ask yourself, how you felt about the barber shop, and would you want to work there.
Ask the barber shop owner/manager:
- Does the barber shop offer structured training?
- How they train apprentices, is it look and learn, or look and learn during set training sessions?
- Would you get paid while you are at off-job training?
If you would like to work in the barber shop, ask the owner/manager for a job and tell them why they should take you on. You could offer to work for no pay for a short time, after school or during weekends to show you are keen and willing to learn. Remember to take your CV along with you. This should be as visual as possible and remember they don't expect you to have any previous barbering experience.
List the reasons you should be chosen. These might be:
- Keen and willing
- Hard worker
- Quick learner
- Good communicator
- Good listener
- Creative and artistic
- Well presented
- Interested in fashion
- Outgoing personality
What is the qualification?
To become a qualified barber you will need to gain National Certificate in Barbering. It is registered on the National Qualification Framework (NQF). It consists of 25 unit standards with a total credit value of 154 credits.
Compulsory
| Number |
Title |
Level |
Credit |
| 56 |
Attend to customer enquiries |
1 |
2 |
| 57 |
Provide customer service |
2 |
2 |
| 406 |
Maintain and take care of stock |
2 |
4 |
| 497 |
Protect health and safety in the workplace |
1 |
1 |
| 1277 |
Communicate information in a specified workplace |
2 |
3 |
| 3501 |
Apply listening techniques |
1 |
4 |
| 6402 |
Provide resuscitation |
1 |
1 |
| 11949 |
Create displays using supplied materials in a retail or distribution environment |
2 |
2 |
| 11955 |
Count and prepare takings for banking in retail or distribution environment |
2 |
2 |
| 12008 |
Sell goods and/or services in a retail or distrubution environment |
2 |
6 |
| 12349 |
Demonstrate time management |
2 |
3 |
| Barbering Units |
| 2886 |
Design & shape beards and moustaches |
3 |
5 |
| 10645 |
Describe the development of barbering |
2 |
3 |
| 10646 |
Apply initial barbering techniques |
2 |
20 |
| 10648 |
Complete a haircut using barbering techniques |
3 |
30 |
| 10650 |
Perform barbering services in a commercial salon |
5 |
10 |
| 19805 |
Blow dry hair using barbering techniques |
2 |
4 |
| 19806 |
Consult with clients for barbering services & analyse hair and scalp conditions |
3 |
20 |
| 19807 |
Describe the fundamentals of wet shaving |
3 |
4 |
| 19808 |
Select and maintain barbering tools & equipment |
2 |
4 |
| 20929 |
Demonstrate safe and professional practice in the salon environment |
3 |
5 |
| Hairdressing Units |
| 2758 |
Demonstrate knowledge of hairdressing products |
3 |
5 |
| 2873 |
Demonstrate knowledge of hairdressing trichology |
2 |
8 |
| 2878 |
Analyse and select corrective treatments for the hair and scalp |
3 |
2 |
| 2882 |
Demonstrate knowledge of diseases and disorders of the hair and scalp |
3 |
4 |
| TOTAL CREDITS 154 |
When you have completed all these units you will receive your National Certificate in Barbering. This is awarded by NZQA.
Barbering Training/Achievement Guide
Click here to find out which unit standards are achieved during each year of an apprenticeship. This guide can be used in the barber shop to monitor your achievement as you progress.
How do I learn?
You will learn both on and off the job. How quickly you get through your apprenticeship is up to you and your employer, but the average apprenticeship takes around three years.
You will be trained in the barber shop in all the barbering skills, by a qualified and experienced barber.
You will spend some time at off-job training during the term of your apprenticeship. These days spent at off-job training will be block courses of 15 days for Year One and 10 days for Year Two.
The Hairdressing ITO pays approx 75% of the cost of off-job training while you are an apprentice. Off-job training is undertaken at a training provider, where you will gain additional knowledge and be assessed in the skills you have been learning and practicing in the barber shop.
Assessments
Assessments confirm skills and knowledge you have gained on the job. You will need to collect evidence while on the job, that proves you can perform the same skill over and over again.
Unit Standard 10650 - Perform barbering services in a commercial salon
Unit Standard 10650 is a two hour observation of your daily work in the barber shop. An Industry Assessor visits you by appointment to watch you at work with your clients.
Apprentice's Responsibilities
Your responsibilities at the barbershop are:
- To be committed to barbering as a career.
- To learn and collect evidence.
- To be punctual.
- To be well groomed.
- To be self motivated.
- To have a commitment to team work.
Employer's Responsibilities
The employer's responsibilities to you are:
- To provide a good working environment.
- To provide regular training to your apprentice.
- To encourage the apprentice through their off-job training.
- To supply positive feedback and constructive criticism on performance and training progress.
- To instill professionalism.
- To set a good example as a member of the hairdressing industry.
What does the HITO Sales & Liaison Manager do?
Once an apprentice has signed a training agreement with their employer and the Hairdressing ITO, it is the Sales & Liaison Manager's job is to offer information and advice to the employer and the apprentice throughout their apprenticeship.
The HITO Sales & Liaison Manager will visit you in the barber shop at least twice a year, and more often if you require. If you are having any problems in your apprenticeship you can call your Sales & Liaison Manager, anything you tell them will be in confidence.