Hair Professional Apprenticeship Level 2

As well as being assessed continually throughout your Apprenticeship course, all Apprentices are required to complete an End-point Assessment in order to complete their qualification.

The EPA is conducted independently to your employer and Peterborough Regional College and is designed to test whether you have gained the skills, knowledge and behaviours outline in the Hair Professional Apprenticeship Standard. You will be graded according to your individual performance. 

Throughout the duration of your Apprenticeship you will complete 28 assessments, only when these have been completed can your assessor and employer agree to put your forward for the ‘Gateway’. This gateway allows you to focus on and prepare for your EPA in order to complete your Apprenticeship. During this time your employer will be expected to support you to prepare for your EPA through regular training and access to suitable models to be used in the EPA.

The EPA will require you to work on a minimum of two models over a 6 hour period and you will be asked to complete a number of tasks. It is your responsibility to source suitable models for the EPA – your employer and Assessor are able to support this, however as the Apprentice you must take the lead by planning your own column. You will need to complete tasks on both long and short hair.

Throughout the Apprenticeship it is your responsibility with the help from your employer, assessor and college tutors to ensure you are ready for your final independent EPA.

More information about your EPA will be given to you by your Assessor at the Apprenticeship Sign Up.

Apprentice are required to purchase items on the kit list below prior to the start of your Apprenticeship. You employer may choose to support you, but there is not requirement for them to do so, therefore you must be prepared to pay for it yourself before you can start the Apprenticeship.

You can purchase the full kit from www.collegekitsdirect.com or you may wish to use an alternative supplier.

The Kit must contain:
     •  Apron black tinting
     •  Babyliss 19mm ceramic dial a heat
     •  Brading bands clear (250 bag)
     •  Double prong clubs (36 bag)
     •  Headfix carbon 4 cutting comb
     •  Headfix carbon 42 military comb
     •  Headfix carbon 6 plastic tail comb
     •  Headfix carbon 9 metal lifter comb
     •  Headfix cushion brush
     •  Headfix folding razor
     •  Headfix hair elastics (pack 10)
     •  Headfix head clamp
     •  Scissors & thinner set – Headfix titanium ice
     •  Protip ceramic porcupine radial 18mm
     •  HeadJog 51 traditional styling brush
     •  Headfix paddle brush
     •  Headfix quad brush set (12,13,15,16)
     •  Headfix tangle brush
     •  Headfix tool carry bag
     •  Headfix training head 1in V2
     •  Headfix vent brush
     •  Headjog 206 detable comb black
     •  Metal wave clamp (Pack 4)
     •  Neck brush
     •  Protip No7 Extra wide rake comb
     •  Protip No 6 Military cutting comb
     •  2x section clips silver (pack of 6)

Uniform
Apprentice’s are required to wear appropriate uniform whilst in college. The uniform is as follows:
     •  Plain black loose fitting t-shirt
     •  Plain black straight leg trousers – no jeans, no rips, no leggings
     •  Plain black flat close toe shoes.

You may also be required to wear a uniform in the workplace and buy additional tools. Please speak to your employer for more information and ensure details are set out in your contract of employment.

Reality check!
You will be working on average 37 hours per week including evenings and Saturdays. You will also spend a lot of time on your feet and it is important that you always look smart. In the first 6 months of your Apprenticeship you will be asked to sweep floors, make refreshments for customers, wash and condition hair, clean towels and complete general cleaning and salon duties to support stylists. However we would expect employers to provide opportunities for you to learn and practice skills via regular training on blocks and where appropriate clients. It is highly unlikely you will be given clients to work on from day one. We would strongly recommend undertaking a minimum of 2 weeks work experience prior to the start of your Apprentice to ensure it is the right environment for you.

The salary for hairdressers can range from £8,000 to as much as £30,000 per year. Apprentices are also expected to buy their own hairdressing kit at the start of the course which can cost on average £130.

An employed status Apprentice you will:
     •  Earn a wage – the national minimum wage for Apprentices is £4.15 an hour, although many Apprentices earn more than this. Please note you must be a paid employee of the business, you cannot be self employed or a volunteer.
     •  Have a contract of employment – this must be given to you at the start of your employment.
     •  Get paid holidays – these will be detailed in your contract of employment.
     •  Receive training – it is crucial to the success of your Apprenticeship that your employer supports you with regular training. The Apprenticeship standard states you must complete a minimum of 20% off-the-job training which can also include training at Peterborough Regional College and training in the salon. You will also be expected to build a portfolio and complete tasks on One-file and Google Classrooms.

Additional time may be required to complete your independent End-point assessment. You must have a contract of employment for the duration of your Apprenticeship programme.