Cut Above Certificate in Barbering Level Three

Katherine Hendry quickly picked up the art of being a barber - and customer chit chat. Picture / Graeme Sedal

THE QUALIFICATION
Cut Above Certificate in Barbering Level Three
Cut Above, Central Auckland
Ph: 09 309 0689 or 0800 2882 2683
Email: Cut Above
Web: www.cutabove.co.nz
Course costs: $4500 plus $1000 equipment and other costs
Starting wages: $14-$16 per hour. Rent-a-chair barbers pay $50-$150 per week.

THE JOB
Traditionally barber shops have been places where men - and some women - pop in without booking to chat about politics and life while the barber clips their hair into short-back-and-sides.

More recently the barber shop image has become much cooler, so much so even rap stars are bouncing into barbershop scenes in video clips.

Cut Above's certificate in barbering, which was first offered last year, teaches students the fundamentals of barbering; clipper cutting, facial hair grooming and shaving.

Supervised practice is a large part of the NZQA accredited course with students practising cutting on a regular basis through the Cut Above training barbershop where students cut hair free of charge each afternoon.

Students learn the classic skills of scissor and clipper cutting, facial hair styling and wet-shaving, as well new trends in men's hair styles. Other parts of the course also have students learning about reception, daily cash transaction and banking, stock control, retailing and customer service skills through the shop.

There are two intakes during the year; the second week of February and the first week of August. Applications close two weeks before the start of the course and a maximum of 16 students are accepted for each intake.

The 34-week, full-time course has open entry. Cut Above level four hairdressing graduates need only complete the final 16-weeks.

Graduates either work for wages in barber shops or hire a chair and operate their own business.

Once graduates have clocked up 600 hours of workplace employment they can apply to the hairdressing industry training organisation for assessment on a final level five unit which is done in the workplace. They then can receive the National Certificate in Barbering.

THE GRADUATE
Katherine Hendry
Graduated in July

Ross rang up Cut Above and asked for someone and I tried out and got the job. I've been working here four months.

Because I was picking up the skills quite quickly I was able to start while still at Cut Above.

Barbering comes naturally now but it didn't when I started the course. I was struggling and then I went on holiday and began thinking it through structurally, put it on paper and it fell into place. From then on I picked it up quickly.

When I started I was not so good at talking to people and I'm still working on that. Ross says I didn't have much confidence here initially. He should have seen me before I started at Cut Above. We did a lot about communicating on the course and in the school barber shop, but being in a real shop is different.

It is easier to talk to people here because you're only having short conversations with customers. In a salon, they could be there for an hour or more.

I did the barbering course after doing Cut Above's hairdressing course because I wanted to learn more about cutting men's hair.

Barbering appeals to me for lots of reasons. It is a more relaxed environment and you get more group discussions about things in a barbers than in a hairdressing salon.

The cutting is different too. Men have more definite cuts, tapered and short. A lady has no real lines.

Men's cutting is more of a challenge in some ways because with a man you see every line and every cut you make.

Here we also do a lot more cuts than at school. I often average in the region of 25 cuts a day.

THE EMPLOYER
Ross Guise
Remuera barber shop owner

I was looking for someone who would fit my clientele in Remuera; a good cutter with the right look and personality and someone who could hold a good conversation. If you can't communicate, it doesn't matter how good a cutter you are, you won't bring the customers back.

Although Katherine was quiet and hardly said 'boo' to start with, she certainly had potential.

When your customers are paying more than $10 for a cut you need to be on to it. Many newcomers take a long time to cut at speed and to a reasonable standard but Katherine had skills and was a fast learner and she quickly got up to speed in the position.

The course is useful because you can't have people cutting hair on paying customers when they don't know what they're doing.

While you can't produce a qualified barber in nine months, the course teaches the fundamentals and starts developing their skills.