Hairdressing Advice Please. College or Salon Apprenticeship?

[Mrs.Clooney]

Hope you don't mind me posting here on behalf of my 17yr old daughter. She is sitting her GCSE's in May/June and has chosen to follow a career in hairdressing. She has had some work experience which went well and has applied to our local college to do their NVQ level 2. We are also planning to attend their open day next week.

However, she has also spoken to the manager and a couple of hairdressing apprentices at a busy local salon who train their students through the salon. They sign a three year contract and qualify in NVQ level 2 after 2 years as well as getting paid at the same time. Their idea is that their students are better equipped at salon level than students graduating from college.

Can anybody advise please?

 

[lauren89]

I done my level 2 as an apptenticeship, as long as she gets into a good salon that will teach her and not just use her as a slave an apprenticeship is the best way to do it.

Many salons won't take college leavers on due to lack of salon experience.

At the moment I am doing my level 3 at the local college, and all of the girls on my course done level 2 there, and there salon ettiquit (sp?) is terrible and no salon will take them on.


And also if she sticks at the apprenticeship, she will build a clientele up over the course of her training and most of the time it's a ready made job at the end of it with

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Lauren, thankyou for your reply. Much appreciated.

I sure other geeks have thoughts on this?

 

[taggyboy]

Hi

I can only offer advice as a business owner and how my daughter (the hairdresser) views this.

Our personal point of view is to take someone on as an apprentice, partly due to:

They interact with clients from the start
They are based in a working environment
When not carrying out their duties, they can watch and learn
They assist with hair washing, greeting clients and forming relationships
Clients like getting to know them and watch them grow
Once further into their apprenticeship, you can offer model prices which help them gain confidence and experience and remain being tutored
They also earn whilst they learn and although this shouldn't be an incentive in itself, they often feel valued

If your daughter can find a supportive salon who will encourage, mentor and guide her through the process, then she will gain so much.

My daughter learnt this way and this could be seen as biased but I often read on SG that not everyone is successful either getting an apprenticeship or finding work after paying for courses and becoming qualified, so it's a tricky one.

For me personally, I am looking forward to our Saturday girl going through the apprenticeship (and providing she does well), being able to offer her employment when qualified in the full knowledge that we have seen her progress and watched her grow.

HTH - sorry about the waffle

 

[pr1ncess]

I have done both ... i started at college and although i loved it i never felt competant on the salon floor so when i got a chance to work as a junior at a local salon, this was Extreamly difficult as when they found out i was at college and not an apprenticship they never wanted to know until i said id go on an apprenicship, i couldnt understand untill i changed over, I learned more in 3 months than i did in 2 years at college.
And without being a big head im well ahead of other girls who continued college and im training them!
Hope this helps

 

[Cesalon]

Hi

I can only offer advice as a business owner and how my daughter (the hairdresser) views this.

Our personal point of view is to take someone on as an apprentice, partly due to:

They interact with clients from the start
They are based in a working environment
When not carrying out their duties, they can watch and learn
They assist with hair washing, greeting clients and forming relationships
Clients like getting to know them and watch them grow
Once further into their apprenticeship, you can offer model prices which help them gain confidence and experience and remain being tutored
They also earn whilst they learn and although this shouldn't be an incentive in itself, they often feel valued

If your daughter can find a supportive salon who will encourage, mentor and guide her through the process, then she will gain so much.

My daughter learnt this way and this could be seen as biased but I often read on SG that not everyone is successful either getting an apprenticeship or finding work after paying for courses and becoming qualified, so it's a tricky one.

For me personally, I am looking forward to our Saturday girl going through the apprenticeship (and providing she does well), being able to offer her employment when qualified in the full knowledge that we have seen her progress and watched her grow.

HTH - sorry about the waffle

Also as a salon owner, I totally agree Apprenticeship every time.

I would advise she goes to your local job center, connexions and training provider they will all have info on apprenticeships.

Connexions Direct - Homepage
Home - Apprenticeships - Opening doors to a better future - info and job listings

Training providers are great because the apprentice spends 5 days a week in the salon and gets assessed within the salon every month, we found they learn much quicker and to a better standard this way.

She will get paid £2.50 per hour, can complete the course in less than 2 years and also sign up to do level 3 after level 2 has been completed.

According to my training provider level 3 is going to become compulsory within the next 2 years anyway but I can't remember if this was for salon owners only or everyone.

Hope that helps.

 

[Simba44]

I agree with apprenticeships as well as salon trained. I've been teaching at a college for 8 years and assessed within the college and done external assessing and I'm a little divided. There's good and not so good to both. When us tutors teach within the college environments and we go through H&S, cutting, colouring etc and we pick up on bad habits very quickly as we have a more hands on approach and everybody knows we are there within a college environment. If the student wants to ask questions about anything there's a great deal of time to answer their questions without compromise of a heaving salon where all of these questions and thorough teaching can't be taught In a really busy commercial salon that's got to make money and serve wages to other staff along with overheads and the demands are endless. I've also been to salons and done external assessing and i can honestly say yes it's more hands on experience however there's a massive difference between student from a college and apprentice, an apprentice has what I call raw training and a college student thorough basic training. When a student leaves the college they qualify in basic hairdressing, so they're still have masses to learn in a salon. However this is where I may spark a debate, I really don't know how many salons I've walked into in prep for an assessment where the apprentice doesn't know how to clean a filter on a hairdryer and not to have electrical wires laying across the clients lap so I sit here impartial to the fact Raw or Thorough basic. I have to say I was bought up within a Kensington & Mayfair family run salons and then I went on to teach and I did have a whole different outlook on the college V apprenticeship debate. I've seen some fantastic stylists from both and in this trade your either gonna sink or swim if I'm honest.

 

[Simba44]

Hi

I can only offer advice as a business owner and how my daughter (the hairdresser) views this.

Our personal point of view is to take someone on as an apprentice, partly due to:

They interact with clients from the start
They are based in a working environment
When not carrying out their duties, they can watch and learn
They assist with hair washing, greeting clients and forming relationships
Clients like getting to know them and watch them grow
Once further into their apprenticeship, you can offer model prices which help them gain confidence and experience and remain being tutored
They also earn whilst they learn and although this shouldn't be an incentive in itself, they often feel valued

If your daughter can find a supportive salon who will encourage, mentor and guide her through the process, then she will gain so much.

My daughter learnt this way and this could be seen as biased but I often read on SG that not everyone is successful either getting an apprenticeship or finding work after paying for courses and becoming qualified, so it's a tricky one.

For me personally, I am looking forward to our Saturday girl going through the apprenticeship (and providing she does well), being able to offer her employment when qualified in the full knowledge that we have seen her progress and watched her grow.

HTH - sorry about the waffle

Good statement good strategy.

 

[persianista]

Salon trained hairdressers are more sought after throughout their careers, and are usually paid more.

If you trade test a college leaver, they 99.9% of the time show a lack of competancy. It is extremely rare for a college to train to salon standard in hairdressing. Most college leavers cannot get jobs.

If there is a chance of an apprentiship in a good salon, grab it with both hands.

 

[Simba44]

Also as a salon owner, I totally agree Apprenticeship every time.

I would advise she goes to your local job center, connexions and training provider they will all have info on apprenticeships.

Connexions Direct - Homepage
Home - Apprenticeships - Opening doors to a better future - info and job listings

Training providers are great because the apprentice spends 5 days a week in the salon and gets assessed within the salon every month, we found they learn much quicker and to a better standard this way.

She will get paid £2.50 per hour, can complete the course in less than 2 years and also sign up to do level 3 after level 2 has been completed.

According to my training provider level 3 is going to become compulsory within the next 2 years anyway but I can't remember if this was for salon owners only or everyone.

Hope that helps.

Level 3 is going to be compulsory for everyone your correct in your thinking.

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

I just want to say thank you very much for your responses and this has really been helpful. From my own enquiries a salon apprenticeship seems to be the way to go although I perfectly see where Simba44 is coming from.

My daughter will be delighted with this input. Thanks again, Tracey

 

[NeelieGel]

salon apprenticeship every time for me. You don't just learn how to do hair and the science of the treatments but how to interact with clients. I remember spending hours watching the different stylists in my salon where I trained and marvelling at how different they were and how talented they were and aspiring to be just like them at the tender age of 16. Surely at a college you only get to see what the tutor is doing and their style of work. I worked in a salon with 8 really good and varied types of stylists. You couldn't ask for a more rounded education in your chosen fields.

 

[dee]

hi i was trained ion college and i had good training ... but if i was to do it all again i wold deffo do apprenticship , i think they get more hands on which at the end of the day is your bread and butter .. yes in college you know your h&s , contra indications etc.. but spending 2 days out of 5 doing theory work is ok at first but as you get deeper in you need more and more hands on experience .. its just a shame a lot of salons treat juniors like utter crap , its actually soul destroying .. but if you get a good salon and show you are keen she will be fine xxx