A skill you can travel the world with

Perhaps you still have a barbie or sindy doll sporting an elegantly styled coiff from your own prodigious infant hand. Maybe you have a friend who let you you do a nice peroxide rinse, and, with a little persuasion, might let you have a stab at giving her a bit of a trim next time. Unfortunately, a depilated dolly or a bleached buddy does not a hairdresser make. Hairdressing is a very skilled profession and it's a trade that takes time to learn.

Some hairdressing salons will take on people with no experience and train them themselves, while others require an apprentice to have a one-year course behind them. Either way the whole training process usually takes four years.

Some VECs offer a one-year PLC course in hairdressing and cosmetic studies. The main centre for the course is Crumlin College of Further Education, Dublin.

Maura Clarke, head of the course in Crumlin, says completing a training course allows students to get wider foundation of skills than going straight into a salon.

"Our students learn all the basics of hairdressing. Often salons attract a particular type of client so an apprentice might never get the chance to learn some techniques. We teach all the different range of skills and styles and students can then decide what type of salon is best suited to their personality."

On completion of the course, students are awarded a Junior Trade Certificate from the Department of Education. They then into placement as a senior first-year apprentice in a salon. Once they are working, students can attend the college part-time on a day release basis to train for their Senior Trade Certificate.

Maura says an apprentice will be working for two to two-and-a-half years before their do their first cut. "Their are lots of things you have to learn before you start cutting hair. Shampooing is important because it familiarises you with hair textures, head shapes and different personalities. You will meet every type of client at the basin."

FAS also runs a number of hairdressing courses. However, the type of course varies from centre to centre. The FAS centre in Jervis Street, Dublin, runs a sixth-month training course, which includes five months in the training centre and one month placement, while FAS in Athlone has a 36-week course which includes 12 weeks of placement. The course in Athlone also links students to employers right from the start of the course and is referred to as a traineeship. Jervis Street waits until the end of the course before sending the students out on placement. Both courses offer FAS/City and Guilds qualifications and there are plans to create a national scheme to standardise the courses.

Unlike the PLCs, FAS does not require applicants to have a Leaving Certificate. However, Theresa Delany, hairdressing instructor in FAS Jervis Street, advises students to complete their Leaving Cert before starting the course.

Delany says the working conditions have improved dramatically. "Hairdressers generally don't work more than a 40-hour week and pay has increased phenomenally, because you don't get staff anymore if you don't look after them.

It is hard work, though, and you are on you feet for most of the day. You must have good dexterity and good colour vision, but, she says, it is a very fulfilling job. "It's a skill you'll have for the rest of your life and you can travel the world with it."

As well as in salons, hairdressers find work on cruise ships, in films and in television, as sales reps for products, as wig-makers and as instructors.

President of the Irish Hairdresser's Federation Maeve O'Healy-Harte advises students to get some experience in a salon before deciding to pursue hairdressing as a career. "There is no point in heading into a training course, then finding out after a month that you're not suited to the job. Getting part-time work in a local salon when you're in school will help you see if it's the job for you." O'Healy-Harte also recommends that students be very selective when choosing the salon for their apprenticeship and employment.

Prospective apprentices, she says, should ask a lot of questions about their career prospects and ensure there are training programmes within the working week.

"There is a huge demand for staff at the moment, so there is no excuse for anyone to be in a salon where they're not paid and trained properly."