Cheynes Training was created in 1988 by William Howarth and Jennifer Cheyne OBE to develop a high-quality hairdressing training system linked to the then, new, National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) structure. Cheynes Training subsequently became the first national training provider for hairdressing when we launched our NVQ programme in 1989 with the full approval and support of the UK government.
Our objective today remains the same as in 1989. Our ambition is to raise the standard of hairdressing and barbering in the UK and help make everyone in our industry proud of the profession. Many thousands of young people have successfully launched their careers through Cheynes Training and achieved their ambition of becoming a professional hairdresser or barber.
In the mid-1990s the government introduced what was then called the Modern Apprenticeship Programme and since then Cheynes Training has worked with many hundreds of employers across Britain delivering hair and barbering apprenticeship training to their employees. Our goal is to help young people fulfil their career ambitions by teaching them how to become a highly successful hairdresser or barber working in a great salon and to achieve this we know that we need to create and continually develop highly effective education systems that routinely achieve exceptional results.
The training programmes currently operated by Cheynes Training include:
- Traineeship: this Level 1 course is ideal for people under the age of 19 who are interested in a career in hairdressing or barbering but want to try it out before they commit to an apprenticeship programme. Trainees receive a mix of practical and theory training in an academy to learn the basics of hairdressing, and work-experience in a local salon or barber shop to acquire important customer service skills and industry experience. A traineeship programme usually lasts around 10 weeks.
- Diploma for Hair Professionals: these are our flagship hairdressing and barbering apprenticeship programmes; they are aimed at new apprentices entering the industry for the first time; the diploma incorporates employer developed standards at Level 2 along with functional skills and other key components. A Level 2 hairdressing diploma usually takes up to two years to complete, the barbering diploma takes around 20 months to complete.
- Diploma for Advanced and Creative Hair Professionals: this Level 3 apprenticeship programme is ideal for hairdressers and barbers who wish to progress from the Level 2 Diploma for Hair Professionals; it teaches hairdressers and barbers advanced technical skills and how to provide a quality service working to the highest standards. It is designed to help professionals to continuously develop their personal and specialist skills. The course normally takes between 18 months and 2 years to complete.
- Level 3 NVQ award in Hair and Barbering: this course fully prepares students for a career in the hair and barbering industry and is ideal for those wishing to learn hairdressing or barbering skills through a non-apprenticeship route. This award is often requested by students wishing to complete a privately funded advanced hairdressing course; the course may also be available via the Adult Education Budget (AEB) or by taking out an advanced learner loan (ALL) through the Students Loan Company. The course normally takes around 12 months to complete.
William Howarth (executive chair) and Melanie Mitchell (managing director) share responsibility for Cheynes Training activities. Melanie is responsible for day-to-day operations and leads our team of highly specialist training advisors and heads up our training and assessment delivery working closely with our exceptionally talented academy teams spread across most regions in England. William is responsible for finance and admin and leads our highly experienced team based at our head office in Edinburgh.
If you are interested in learning more about what we do, please contact us at enquiries@cheynestraining.com or telephone Melanie on 0797 172 7654, or William on 0771 034 0048.