Hairdresser assistant to barber
A hairdresser assistant already meets 70% of what the barber role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
33.2/ 100
1 How much of what a barber is expected to do is already part of a hairdresser assistant’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the barber role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A barber role treats 12 of its required skills as things a hairdresser assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on hair style
- communicate with customers
- hair
- hair products
- listen actively
- maintain customer service
What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 22 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A barber role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a hairdresser assistant background worth leading with.
- already held use equipment for hair care assisting and caring
- already held help customers with hair problems assisting and caring
- already held sell hair products communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held wash hair assisting and caring
- already held hair products services
- already held advise on hair style communication, collaboration and creativity
All 22 carried skills, including the 12 the barber role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 12 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn treat facial hair required
- still to learn style hair required
- optional, not held apply hair cutting techniques optional
- still to learn manage personal professional development required
- optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
- optional, not held manage a small-to-medium business optional
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held supervise staff optional
- still to learn barbering techniques required
- optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- optional, not held keep stock records optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a barber role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 treat facial hair practise this
- 02 barbering techniques study this
- 03 manage personal professional development practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 22 skills that carry over
- already held advise on hair style skill
- already held communicate with customers skill
- already held hair knowledge
- already held hair products knowledge
- already held listen actively skill
- already held maintain customer service skill
- already held maintain equipment skill
- already held process payments skill
- already held stay up-to-date with hair style trends skill
- already held use equipment for hair care skill
- already held work ergonomically skill
- already held work safely with chemicals skill
- already held administer appointments skill
- already held dye hair skill
- already held give massages skill
- already held help customers with hair problems skill
- already held maintain professional administration skill
- already held maintain work area cleanliness skill
- already held order supplies skill
- already held recommend cosmetics to customers skill
- already held sell hair products skill
- already held wash hair skill
8 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply hair cutting techniques optional
- optional, not held issue sales invoices optional
- optional, not held keep stock records optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with suppliers optional
- optional, not held manage a small-to-medium business optional
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held supervise staff optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
6 held skills the barber role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role greet guests skill
- not needed by the target role hair colouring knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
- not needed by the target role monitor stock level skill
- not needed by the target role provide directions to guests skill
- not needed by the target role treat scalp conditions skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn barbering techniques required
Common questions about this move
Can a hairdresser assistant become a barber?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A hairdresser assistant already covers 70% of what a barber is expected to do: 22 skills carry over, 12 of which the barber role treats as required.
What skills does a hairdresser assistant need to become a barber?
4 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is treat facial hair.
How hard is the move from hairdresser assistant to barber?
Its learning distance is 33.2 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.