OUR AWARD-WINNING APPRENTICE TRAINING PROGRAM

We have developed a specialised Apprentice Training Program which won us the award of Small Employer of the Year at the 2025 Queensland Training Awards (Metro Region). We are so proud of the program that we have developed and our apprentices who have successfully completed their training and gone on to become incredible stylists at Blondee.

Want to find out more about our program, and what an apprenticeship at Blondee might look like? We’d LOVE to tell you ♡

WHAT IS A HAIRDRESSING APPRENTICESHIP?

An apprenticeship is an agreement between an employer and an apprentice, formalised by the government through a Training Contract. In our industry, the qualification is called a Certificate III in Hairdressing (SHB30416) and in order to obtain this qualification, you are required to work and train for around 3 years.

Training includes a mixture of in-salon tasks, theory workbooks and assessments. We use MIG Training as our preferred Registered Training Organisation (RTO) to deliver formal training to our apprentices.

Apprentices progress year-by-year through their apprenticeship, starting as what we call a First Year Emerging Stylist and finishing after they have completed their third year of training.

Apprentices may progress more quickly through their apprenticeship, as long as all of their competencies have been signed off by the salon manager and RTO trainer.

HOW IS BLONDEE’S APPRENTICE TRAINING PROGRAM STRUCTURED?

Our apprenticeship program includes one dedicated and paid apprentice training day per fortnight, where our apprentices train under our lead educator, Holly Calligaro (co-owner and creative director of Blondee Morningside) and MIG trainers.

One Monday a fortnight is completely dedicated to training, where our apprentices are given the opportunity to book in hair models throughout the day to practice their skills and sign off certain tasks in line with their Certificate III in Hairdressing. Depending on where apprentices are up to in their training, their hair model guests might be booked in for wash & blow dries, colours, smoothing treatments, haircuts, and foiling and balayage packages.

This is a paid work day, supplemented with a day off during our regular working week.

Altogether, our apprentices have approximately 24 days per year (minus our annual 2-week Christmas/New Years closure) of dedicated in-salon training, where they are paid just to learn and practice their craft!

During the rest of the week, our apprentices are instrumental in supporting our senior stylists, maintaining a beautiful salon, and looking after their own clientele.

HOW MANY APPRENTICES DOES BLONDEE HAVE?

The number of apprentices we have at each salon depends on the number of senior stylists we have working full-time! Usually, we have around 2-3 apprentices working at each salon. As our apprentices move up in year level, we bring onboard a new first-year apprentice.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL APPRENTICESHIP LOOK LIKE, YEAR-BY-YEAR?

First Year: This year is all about nailing the basics, including basin rituals, salon maintenance, customer service, blow dries and styling. We also usually have our first years on the floor assisting our senior stylists with applying toners, global & regrowth colours, extension removals and smoothing treatments.

Second Year: This is where our apprentices start learning more colour theory and techniques, like foils and balayage, and start their cutting training. Our second years usually have a good mix of their own clients and time assisting our seniors day-to-day.

Third Year: The final year of training is all about building your clientele, mastering your colour and cutting skills and becoming confident to step onto the floor as a fully qualified senior stylist.

This is just a general overview of what an apprenticeship might look like, and we often provide extra education opportunities for our team of all levels on colour, extensions and cutting throughout the year.

HOW DO I START AN APPRENTICESHIP?

Our apprentices undergo the same hiring and onboarding process as our other team members. If hired as an apprentice at Blondee Salons, there are a few things that need to happen before we get you underway in your training!

1. You will be signed up into a Training Contract by our preferred Apprentice Connect Australia Provider, BUSY At Work. The training contract is then sent to the Queensland Department of Trade, Employment and Training for approval. If you are under the age of 18, your parents may need to be present at the sign up and will need to sign the Training Contract.

2. MIG Training will then be in touch to arrange their own sign up, where you will complete a Training Plan and be registered with them as a student.

3. Your Training Contract will be approved by the Department and you will officially be an apprentice! BUSY At Work will send you more information about certain incentives, loans and support you can receive as an Australian Apprentice.

4. If you are still at school, you will need to chat with them first about how to undertake a School-Based Apprenticeship.

DO I NEED TO PAY FOR MY TRAINING?

The short answer to this question is no! MIG Training is fully funded by the Queensland Government to deliver the Certificate III in Hairdressing training to apprentices. This may depend on your individual circumstances, but in most cases you won’t have to pay out of pocket to undertake this apprenticeship.

There may be other costs associated with your apprenticeship, such as purchasing your own tools, however there are federal incentives in place to assist you with this.