Employer FAQS

Apprenticeships result in a measurable competitive  advantage! It removes the often time consuming and costly task of retraining a new hire in the critically necessary skills that your salon/spa/shop offers your clientele. As far as we’re concerned, the most significant benefit a salon/sap/shop owners will enjoy is radically reduced employee turnover. The facts don’t lie. According to the Department of Labor, 94% of apprentices that complete an apprenticeship remain with the employer!

There are financial benefits as well. For instance, a training agent salon/spa/shop who employs an apprentice can compensate those employees less than a newly graduated Beauty Trades employee. Those wages do increase incrementally as the apprentice becomes more skilled, but those same apprentices are most often producing salon/spa/shop revenue at an ever increasing rate. State tax credits may also be available to further help defray the cost of taking on an apprentice trainee. 

Staffing can be extremely challenging in our industry as a whole, often through no fault of our own. The fact is that most of the professionals leaving the industry are doing so, not because they don’t love the craft but because they weren’t adequately trained by their educators or their employers. What does this mean for you as an apprentice training salon/spa/shop? You have the opportunity to help create a professional who understands the industry and their role in it, and who is unlikely to experience the “rude awakening” effect that drives many traditionally educated professionals from this career.

Apprentices require a significant time investment by a Training Agent salon/spa/shop since most apprentice candidates have little or no experience. Therefore, it may be a while before a salon/spa/shop owner can begin to see benefits from the arrangement. The training agent business must teach the topics required by their state agencies, and while the backbone of the industry is similar, core requirements will differ from state to state. Atarashii works very closely with each state and/or federal agency to ensure that our curriculum exceeds those state requirements. 

The apprenticeship model is designed for the apprentice to work directly with a licensed professional and receive one-on-one training. This can impact the ‘Journeymen’ trainers by limiting their ability to schedule as many clients as possible on a daily basis.  Apprentices usually start by observing their mentor/journeyman and gradually work into practicing various techniques on real clients.  During this training time, the journeyman may find that having a trained ‘assistant’ can offset a lot of that perceived “lost revenue”!  A discussion with your current staff covering these training requirements is usually recommended prior to bringing an apprentice candidate on board.

Like trade schooling, a Beauty Trades  apprenticeship requires that you meet core learning and skills goals and complete the requirements set forth by your state for licensure.The difference is that your learning takes place in a salon setting, rather than in a trade school. Some of the topics you can expect to cover in an apprenticeship include:

• State regulatory laws and rules
• Professional development
• Salon Industry Management
• Customer relations
• Scalp and Hair Care
• Essential beauty education and skills
• Theory

A salon/spa/shop participating in an apprenticeship program must teach the topics required by their state. While the backbone of the beauty trades is similar, core requirements will differ from state to state, The Atarashii Apprentice Program works very closely with each state and/or federal agency to make sure that the curriculum exceeds the requirement for each state.

A Beauty Trades apprenticeship program is an alternative path for career candidates to gain the training needed to pursue licensure. Apprentices work directly with a licensed professionals in a salon/spa/shop and receive one-on-one training.  Apprentices usually start by observing their mentor journeymen and gradually work into practicing various techniques on real clients and ultimately becoming a full-time service provider. Aside from a training fee and buying tools, apprenticeships are often low-cost or no cost, and apprentices get paid wages.

Black Girl Beauty School of Careers Apprentice Program is designed to help the apprentice candidate in connecting with a salon/spa/shop Training Agent. The easiest way is to apply directly to the program HERE. 

After completing all of the appropriate background information and approved through the Apprentice Vetting Commitee, the apprentice candidate is placed in a catalogue of eligible candidates that our multiple Training Agent partners often review. 

The second is to search our list of Training Agent Partners and apply directly with them.  If a Training Agent Partner hires you, then they will follow through with placing you in our program.

These are the states that currently offer recognize Beauty Trades Apprenticeships as a path into the industry. Please contact us to learn more. We are adding states all the time so please check back frequently. 

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Missouri
• New Hampshire
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• Wisconsin

It is surprisingly easier than you might think. Many times, it is a salon/spa/shop owner’s own relative or an employee’s child or other relative who has a passion for the industry. How about the receptionist who wants to pick up a comb instead of a telephoning tomorrow? We have several Training Agent Salons/Spas/Shops that make apprenticeship part of their business model. And don’t forget the impact of a social media page with salon signage.

An apprentice candidate can also apply directly to our program in whatever type of salon/spa/shop training they are interested in, and we will Vett them and place them in a catalogue of apprentice candidates’ applicants that any of our Training Agents can select from.

There are 2 sets of hours that myst be accomplished to complete the Black Girl Beauty School of Careers Apprentice Program.  The first is called On-The-Job-Training (OJT) or On-The-Job-Learning (OJL), depending upon which state you are in.  These are essentially clinic hours that the apprentice clocks in for, when they are physically working as a service provider.  Some tasks included are assisting another service provider, cleaning duties, and reception duties; all of these count as OJT/OJL hours.

The second set of hours is called Related Supplemental Instruction (RSI) or Related Technical Instruction (RTI). These hours are essentially your learning hours,. In the Atarashii Apprentice Program, these are managed through evidencing assignments, study time, practice, demonstration, written exams, and performance exams.

OJT/OJL hours are reported through our Apprentiscope dashboard and approved by the assigned apprentice coach.  RTI/RSI hours are input monthly based on what the apprentice has completed in their learning path.

Our business model is simple.  We provide the beauty industry career candidate (Apprentice) with on-the-job training (OJT) by partnering them with our fully vetted Training Salons, Barber Shops and Spas. There they can “Learn While They Earn!”  

We provide the oversight and fundamental training that enhances the OJT provided by the salon/spa/shop. We closely monitor the various requirements from the appropriate State and/or Federal Agencies to ensure that all licensing goals are completed fully and on time as well.  In our opinion, the apprenticeship path to licensure should be easy and fun for both the salon, shop or spa and the apprentice.