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Professional Beauty


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Another level

The National Hairdressing Apprenticeship puts a focus on linking classroom learning with in-salon training, to bring a new approach to hair education in Ireland

Ireland’s new National Hairdressing Apprenticeship has been validated by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), and is being rolled out around the country in January 2021. The programme has been developed as a new statutory apprenticeship by a consortium of industry and education providers, with Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board as the lead co-ordinating provider. According to the conso rtium, it will provide the industry with some stimulus in recruiting new apprentices to a career in hairdressing, with a nationallyrecognised qualification.

The first of its kind in Ireland for the hairdressing industry, the apprenticeship will be a minimum of three years in duration, and will provide those who complete the program me with a Level 6 Major Award on the National Framework of Qualifications, with certification awarded by QQI. The training will take place on a day-release basis for students, placing them in the salon environment for a further four days under the guidance of a salon mentor. With a clear path from entry to qualification, the programme aims to complement the employer’s in-salon training, while increasing the apprentice’s personal and academic confidence, so that they become highly-skilled employees, who can work autonomously and develop levels of self-awareness.

City of Dublin Education and Training Board is one of the collaborating providers for the new apprenticeship, with Coláiste Dhúlaigh College of Further Education in Kilbarrack chosen as one of the Dublin colleges to teach it. The tutor responsible for the apprenticeship training there is Kevin Cahill, a former Irish Hairdressing Federation president, and salon owner, who has over 45 years’ experience in the industry.

“While the new structure will provide challenges for the industry, I believe that Irish hairdressing is more than ready for them, and it will be fantastic to see apprentice hairdressers here finish with a qualification that is both nationally and internationally recognised,” he says. “I believe this will have incredible long-term benefits, not only for the apprentices, but also for the employers and the quality of recruits coming into the industry. This programme is going to attract ambitious, creative people who want a career in hairdressing. They, in turn, will go on to drive the industry.”

‘I believe this will have incredible long-term benefits, not only for the apprentices, but also for the employers and the quality of recruits coming into the industry’

Degree option

The Level 6 qualification is also an optional route to university. “Some might decide to do a management degree after, for example, which they could never do before because the qualification only went as high as Level 5. So this apprenticeship brings hairdressing to a whole different career level, and it gives salon owners a wider pool to draw from.”

Any salon can apply for the programme, however they must first be approved by Solas, the Further Education and Training Authority. They can begin this process by registering an expression of interest on the National Hairdressing Apprenticeship website. “They must also meet certain criteria,” explains Cahill. “They have to have a minimum of two styling stations. And they must have a stylist who can act as a mentor to the apprentice. This mentor must have a minimum of five years’ quality experience on the salon floor. The p rogramme works on a n ‘earn as you learn’ m odel, meaning a pprentices are paid a n agreed weekly ap prentice rate by the ir employer.”

While the apprentice att ends college one day a we ek, and is in the salon for the remaining four, there is an onus on the salon to provide additional course and training opportunities. “That element is central to the programme,” says Cahill. “The college is there to liaise with the salon, to make sure that the apprentice is getting all the requirements for their qualification. But the salon shapes their apprentice into the hairdresser they want them to be, and there would be an expectation that they would provide as many hair education opportunities as possible.”

According to Suzanne Kiely, programme co-ordinator for the National Hairdressing Apprenticeship, it heralds a positive change in the approach to the education and training of hairdressers in Ireland. “It is a real game-changer for the industry in Ireland. The programme is an innovative employer-led undertaking, which has its finger on the pulse of what is required by the hairdressing industry of today.”

This article appears in the November 2020 Issue of Professional Beauty & HJ Ireland

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This article appears in the November 2020 Issue of Professional Beauty & HJ Ireland