A salon apprentice is someone who is new to the cosmetology industry and works in a salon under supervision to gain hands-on experience. Depending on the jurisdiction in which a person works, he or she may already have completed the necessary education to become a cosmetologist or aesthetician and may be required to hold a license to practice. The salon apprentice may perform basic client services and routine maintenance work around the salon while also observing a senior stylist at work during their training. Because the worker has real-world job training after completing an apprenticeship, he or she may have better job prospects in the personal appearance industry.
Before performing personal appearance services such as hair cutting, manicures, or facials, a person must have a license in many areas. Those seeking a license must typically complete an approved course of study at a beauty school. A typical beauty school education includes classroom theory classes as well as hands-on experience working on fellow students and, eventually, the general public in a beauty school clinic. It can still be difficult to find work right after graduation if you don’t have any previous work experience. As a result, some recent graduates choose to work as a salon apprentice in order to improve their skills and gain a better understanding of their field.
Both independently owned and chain beauty salons offer apprenticeships. Salon apprenticeship programs will be unique to each salon or salon chain. A salon apprentice in the best programs will not only perform various tasks around the salon and observe other stylists, but will also have the opportunity to work through an established program that will allow him or her to work in a variety of cosmetology areas. If the apprentice discovers a sub-specialty of cosmetology that piques his or her interest, he or she may be given the opportunity to work in that area more.
If a new stylist does not have a significant work history, some chain salons require them to serve as apprentices. In these programs, the salon apprentice not only performs client services like shampooing and blow drying, but he or she may also be trained in the chain’s procedures and protocols. For example, trainees might be expected to learn how to work with the chain’s specific product brands while also honing their professional skills. Supervising stylists may observe the apprentice and assist the salon’s hiring manager in determining whether the individual has the potential to work as a regular stylist at the salon or elsewhere in the chain.