Your Hairdressing Apprenticeship

The Hairdressing Apprenticeship is available for any learner above the age of 16 and there are no entry requirements for the apprenticeship.

The hairdressing apprenticeship will last between 15 - 18 months, on average. During your apprenticeship you will be earning a wage while learning your skills, an apprentice will be employed in a salon for a minimum of 30 hours per week and will be entitled to all the benefits of your qualified colleagues.

The Qualification

During the apprenticeship you will be assessed on your knowledge and understanding of the five mandatory units and one optional unit. These assessments will be completed by your Kleek Educator to the requirements of our awarding body.

Apprentices will be working towards the Hair Professionals Standard Hairdressing Apprenticeship and after completing the program you will be fully qualified stylist with options to further your education with other apprenticeships.

What Will I Be Doing In My First Year?

A 1st year apprentice hairdresser typically performs tasks such as shampooing, conditioning, and blow-drying hair, as well as assisting senior hairdressers with cutting, coloring, and styling. You may also be responsible for maintaining the cleanliness and organisation of the salon, interacting with clients, and learning basic hairdressing techniques and safety procedures. Throughout your apprenticeship, you are expected to develop your skills and knowledge through hands-on experience and training under the guidance of senior hairdressers.

The Units

There are five mandatory units and to be awarded the Hair Professionals Standard Hairdressing Apprenticeship you must achieve in all these plus one of the optional units

The aim of this unit is to develop your practical skills and knowledge in the important area of consulting with your clients so that you can: assess the client’s requirements; examine the hair, skin and scalp; take into account facial characteristics including face shape, skin tone, hair colour, lifestyle and suitability; conduct visual checks and any necessary tests on the hair, skin and scalp; advise clients on services or products; identify the client’s hair characteristics and hair classification; advise clients on hair maintenance and management.

The aim of this unit is to develop your practical skills and knowledge in shampooing, conditioning, and treating the hair using correct massage techniques and the correct products for a variety of hair and scalp conditions. You will also learn how to advise clients on aftercare requirements.

The aim of this unit is to develop your practical skills and knowledge to create a variety of looks using cutting techniques including one length, fringe cutting, precision cutting techniques, scissor over comb, texturising, layering techniques, graduation, and clipper work.

The aim of this unit is to develop your practical skills and knowledge to style hair using blow drying, finger drying, setting, plaiting/braiding, and twisting techniques into modern creative hairstyles. You will also learn how to add hair where appropriate and create hair up styles using modern techniques. You will learn how to finish hair using a variety of heated styling equipment.

The aim of this unit is to develop your practical skills and knowledge to change hair colour using semi-permanent, quasi-permanent, permanent and lightening products to change depth and tone. You will develop the ability to colour a full head, regrowth, woven highlights or low lights including T section and half head.

The aim of this unit is to develop your practical skills and knowledge to be able to carry out perming and neutralising services using a range of products and winding techniques.

How The Apprenticeship Works

Kleek Apprenticeships provide outstanding hairdressing apprenticeships using the two options most chosen by salons across the country.

You can choose to complete the apprenticeship through either a fully in work route where all the training and assessments are completed in your own salon, or you can choose to follow the day release route at one of our fully equipped hair salons at our hairdressing academies.

With our grade one apprenticeships you will get these fantastic benefits:

Full practical and theory training from an award winning training provider.
Bespoke learning pathway arranged to suit you and your salons needs, whilst ensuring all aspects of the apprenticeship are completed.
Access to our innovative Kleek Klassroom containing digital learning materials such as videos from industry experts, workbooks and quizzes.
Virtual classrooms on Zoom, Teams and Facebook to top up your industry leading training.
An invite to our Apprenticeship Facebook Forum where apprentices, employers and educators meet to chat, ask for and offer advice, show off their skills and take part in friendly competition.
Assessments and observations from outstanding educators with years of industry experience.
The contact details of your dedicated educator so you can get in touch about anything you need, even if it's not related to your apprenticeship.
Regular reviews throughout the apprenticeship allowing you to offer feedback on your training.
End Point Assessment preparation and support.
Full support for your English and maths functional skills using specially developed tools and materials.

If you have chosen the in work learning route you will also receive monthly salon visits from your educator to support you through the training.

Completing The Apprenticeship

At the end of your hairdressing apprenticeship, after you have successfully completed the unit assessments, you will receive a Certificate of Unit Achievement. This allows you to progress onto the Gateway stage of the apprenticeship.

The Gateway is a period where we will review your knowledge, skills and behaviours to see if you have met the minimum requirements and are ready to take the End Point Assessment.

What is the End Point Assessment?

The End Point Assessment or EPA is an assessment of all the knowledge, skills and behaviours you have learned throughout your apprenticeship, it confirms you are ready to take the next steps in your hairdressing career.

These assessments have been designed and developed, by employers in the hairdressing industry, to reflect the daily work of a hairdresser. This makes them very sought after by employers across the industry.

After you have passed all the elements of the EPA, including any required standards in English and maths, you will receive your apprenticeship certificate.

What Does The Future Hold?

After you have completed your Hair Professionals Standard Hairdressing Apprenticeship you will be a fully qualified hairdresser and will be able to work independently within your salon.

There are many fantastic opportunities available for a qualified hairdresser, some of which you can read about on our What Happens When You Complete You Apprenticeship page.

The natural progression for a level 2 qualified hairdresser is to continue onto The Advanced and Creative Hairdressing Apprenticeship Level 3 but there are further apprenticeships available to you which will allow you to increase your knowledge add to your skill set and become ever more valuable to your salon.

Overall, you have a bright future ahead of you in the beauty industry, and we wish you all the best in your continued professional development and career success.

WHAT NEXT!

If you are interested in strengthening your team or enhancing their skills, please visit our employers page to learn more about the resources and support we offer.

If you are seeking to further develop your own skills and expertise, we invite you to find your apprenticeship with our current opportunities.

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