TRoQ Process Gears Up
“By law, HITO is a mandatory stakeholder, legislated standard setter, voice of industry relating to training and qualification developer for the Barbering, Beauty and Hairdressing Industry”
NZQA has asked our industry to review the number of hairdressing and barbering qualifications that are on offer. The goal is to reduce the number of qualifications so that the education options available are of high quality and easy for learners and employers to understand. This process, which NZQA are calling the Targeted Review of Qualifications’ (TRoQ), has designed to be driven by our industry. Graeme Hall has been appointed by NZQA to facilitate the project.
Graeme says one of the first things he noticed about education in the hairdressing industry was the sheer number of qualifications on offer.
“There are 67 qualifications in the hairdressing and barbering sectors, and I think everyone agrees that is far too many. This number of qualifications is confusing for learners and salons,” says Graeme.
Six of the 67 qualifications are National Certificates developed by HITO, and the other 61 are local qualifications delivered by Private Training Establishments and Polytechnics.
“From a learner’s point of view, the current structure is too complicated. There’s no guarantee that the qualification you come out with is valued by employers. For salons it can be hard to figure out what skills graduates have, and whether the quality of their education and training is up to the standard required by the industry,” says Graeme.
“The TRoQ will help us ensure that qualifications are relevant to industry and learners,” says Graeme.
As part of the TRoQ process representatives from the industry are defining the roles that exist across small, medium, and large salons. Once this is complete, the focus will be on defining the skills required for each role, and ensuring qualifications are available that contain these skills.
A Governance and Advisory Group has been established which is made up of 14 delegates from different stakeholder groups. A Working Group has also been established to undertake the detailed work. The Working Group is made up of a HITO representative, two education provider representatives, and two industry representatives.
“We want the Groups to confirm what the roles are in the industry by the end of September. Once we agree on the roles, the next step will understand the knowledge and competency requirements contained in these roles,” says Graeme.
The first meeting of the Governance and Advisory Group was on 29 August and the next is on 28 September. At the 29 August meeting NZQA gave a presentation outlining a process to follow. Delegates then split into groups to discuss their views on the possible outcomes, process, constraints, and key issues relating to the review.
Graeme says that the main outcome of this process will be industry agreeing to a compact set of qualifications that align strongly with the respective roles. A report will also be presented to NZQA defining the agreed structure for hairdressing and barbering education and training in New Zealand.
“There could be a recommendation for the number of qualifications on offer to reduce to below ten,” says Graeme. “It may be possible for local providers to adapt their programme to meet the qualification requirements while also best reflecting their community’s needs,” says Graeme.
Once the overall proposal is approved by NZQA, the new qualifications will be developed.
Graeme believes the TRoQ process is a great opportunity for the hairdressing and barbering industries to shape the future of education and training.
“It’s a fantastic thing for industry to be part of. The outcome will be better for industry because it will produce what employers are after. It will be better for learners as they will graduate with qualifications valued by industry,” says Graeme.
People wanting to feedback into this process can pass on their comments to NZARH (you do not need to be a NZARH member to do so), submit feedback through HITO at troq@hito.org.nz or submit feedback through the HITO website forum at www.hito.org.nz/forum.
You are also able to contact Graeme directly (graeme@rutherfordsloan.co.nz) and can view documents that have been created through the process at www.hairtroq.org
