Be an Apprentice Builder

By Anthony Gray, MIG Training

After surviving the silly season, a new year can bring, new energy and a time for putting new plans and strategies in place. Importantly any strategy and planning, needs to extend to the education and training of your apprentices.

As we all know rates of cancellation for apprentices sit at approximately 50% and cancellation rates for those in the first 12 months are even higher. In line with this data the workforce development research can be a little confronting as well. Employee surveys suggest that 44% of the people you currently employ are actively looking for another position and another 34% while not actively looking would jump at the right opportunity if it were to come along.

With this as a backdrop filling roles and building a team boils down to a combination of three choices:

• To buy • To Build • To Rent

While going to the market to “buy” longer term employees or to “rent” short term contracted team members is always an important part of any ongoing workforce development plans for a salon, I don’t need to tell anyone that going to the market in the current environment is borderline impossible. This reality sharpens the focus on the option “to build” and grow your team from within. And as such retention, engagement and development of apprentices is a critical investment and key component of any new year business plans and strategies.

To support this planning process there are a number of insights we can offer from the perspective of a training organisation when it comes to the engagement and development of apprentices. At its core an apprentice who is provided the opportunity to develop skills quickly, who is offered are plenty of professional development opportunities and who feels that their developing skills are contributing to the success of the salon are the ones that stay.

If these needs are met the lure of additional financial rewards and greener pastures becomes less appealing and apprentices are more likely to stay committed to you and your business. This investment in developing the skills of the apprentice has a cascading effect and is the fastest way we have seen to build trust between an apprentice and their place of work. This trust means that the workplace quickly becomes a safe place to share, learn, contribute, challenge and above all to make mistakes for an apprentice.

One piece of evidence that we see that supports this assertion is the completion and cancellation rates of the Barber apprentice we train in comparison to the Hairdressing apprentices we work with. The cancellation rate for the Barber apprentices is significantly lower than the cancellation rate for the Hairdressing apprentices.

While there are many nuances and generalisations are fraught, the one thing that Barber apprentices on a whole have to their advantage as opposed to their Hairdressing counterparts is the rapid uptake of skills training. Barber apprentices on the whole progress very quickly and are cutting on the floor and working with clients within months of starting an apprenticeship. This leads to the connection, growth and sense of contribution that are so important to retention.

This does not mean that Barber apprentices are perfect students when it comes to their apprenticeship training, quite the contrary, often the formal training and assessment provided by the RTO comes in a distant second to the skills learnt in the Barbershop. But what it does highlight are the advantages that can be gained with a focus on training and skills development in terms of work satisfaction and therefore retention.

A hairdressing apprenticeship on the other hand can often be focussed on providing support to a senior stylist. This can have the effect of slowing down skills development and training. The unintended consequence can be an employee who becomes disengaged from the workplace.

Therefore, when planning for the coming year with your apprentices there are a number of ways you can help your apprentice to feel they are moving forward and developing the skills. Creating an in-salon training plan that goes further than just completing Certificate III units is the best first step.

Secondly the insalon training identified needs to concentrate on skill that add value to the salon to ensure there is a feeling of achievement and contribution on the apprentice’s behalf. This could be amazing basin rituals or exceptional styling skills for those in their first year of Hairdressing followed by long and medium length cutting skills as they move through their second year.

This fast-paced skill development also needs to be linked to professional development opportunities outside of the salon environment. Education from product suppliers, independent educators and RTO’S that complement the skills learnt in the salon provide a number of benefits. They serve to hasten progression of the skills learnt insalon.

They also allow the apprentice to return to the salon with new or alternate techniques that they are then able to contribute to the workplace. And finally, it provides validation for all the wonderful training you are providing in-salon as the apprentice spreads their wings and gets a broader Industry view.

Therefore, a new year’s plan developed for your apprentice that includes the elements outlined above will provide the opportunity to develop skills quickly and provide tangible professional development opportunities.

These factors are key components that lead to a feeling of value and contribution. An apprentice who feels valued and is making a real contribution on daily basis to the success of the business is an apprentice who is more likely to have a strong connection to you and your team.