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MODULE-A
APPRENTICESHIP SIGN UP
This module provides information and services to help you determine if you qualify for a hairstylist apprenticeship program, find an employer or sponsor and apply to be an apprentice.
Once your application is approved, staff from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development (MLTSD) (“the Ministry” throughout the modules) local Apprenticeship Office will contact you and your employer to sign a Registered Training Agreement.
There are multiple pathways to becoming a professional hairstylist. Traditionally, you start a hairstylist apprenticeship with on-the-job training, followed by short periods of in-class technical training as your apprenticeship progresses. Additionally, the other pathway for apprentices is to complete their education at either a college or private vocational school in Ontario. For each pathway, an apprentice must also complete on-the-job training
Course 1.1 Sign Up
Available Pathways of Education:
- Pathways to Become a Professional Hairstylist,
Sign-Up Procedure:
- Read the qualification requirements,
- Find a sponsor and collect the necessary information,
- Sign up for the apprenticeship @ Skilled Trades Ontario Portal,
- After the Ministry approval, sign your training agreement with your sponsor.
Completion Procedure:
- Completion
1.1.1 AVAILABLE PATHWAYS of EDUCATION
Apprenticeship Pathway to Cert. of Qualification
Pathways to Become a Professional Hairstylist
How you prepare for a hairstylist apprenticeship depends on your situation:
- you’re a youth or adult and not in high school or college (Pathway01 à follow traditional apprenticeship path)
- you have a recent high school diploma or equivalent, and you are about to go to a college or a Private Career College (Pathway02 à College Full-time Certificate Programs)
- you’re in high school, either Grade 11 or 12 (Pathway03 à register to OYAP)
Traditional hairstylist apprenticeship (Pathway01):
A person seeking an apprenticeship is responsible for finding an employer who will sponsor him or her. The employer and apprentice register with the local Ontario Apprenticeship Office. Only after this is done does the apprenticeship-training period officially begin.
The program duration for the apprenticeship pathway is approximately two years of 3020 hours of on-the-job training and two levels of in-school training consisting of 240 hours each level.
If an apprentice is a Traditional Apprentice, they are invited to the school by the local Apprenticeship offices, and then they register at a local training delivery agency. Usually, these are the local colleges.
Ontario Colleges (Pathway02):
Ontario’s Colleges of Applied Arts and Technologyoffer 1500-hour hairstylist diploma programs that consist of classroom theory and practical training. After completing the programs, graduates must register as apprentices and gain approximately 2000 hours of on-the-job experience until they meet the requirements for certification.
Once both components are completed, graduates are able to write the Certificate of Qualification.
Private Career Colleges:
Private Career Colleges offer 1500-hour hairstylist programs that consist of classroom theory and practical training. After completing the programs, graduates must register as apprentices and gain approximately 2000 hours of on-the-job experience until they meet the requirements for certification.
**Note** At any point, the student (with their grade 12 diploma) may be eligible to register at an Apprenticeship office of the Ministry as an apprentice to complete the 2000 hours of on-the-job experience
Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program(Pathway03):
If you’re in high school, you can earn co-op education credits through work placements in the hairstylist trade. Co-op education credits are secondary school credits that you earn through a work placement.
For more information on OYAP Hairstylist Program, please visit this OYAP site.
How to qualify
To qualify for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP), you must:
- Be in your graduating year with at least 26 credits
- Have an interest in working within the Service Sector as a Hairstylist
- Be in good academic standing, including completion of all compulsory courses required for an Ontario Secondary School Diploma
- A limited number of spaces are available.
How to apply
Contact the OYAP coordinator for your school board. Find your school board’s coordinator below.
Visit the OYAP website.
1.1.2 Sign-up Procedure
Course 1.1. of this Guide is designed to assist the hairstylist apprenticeship candidates in initiating registering process and completing the formal application procedure with a training agreement with the candidate’s sponsor.
- Qualification Requirements:
To qualify for a hairstylist apprenticeship, you must:
- have legal permission to work in Canada (for example, have a valid social insurance number)
- meet the Ontario Provincial educational requirements for the hairstylist trade:
The requirement for hairstyling training programs in Ontario states that all apprentices in hairstyling must have a grade 12 diploma (Ontario Secondary School Diploma) or other provincial equivalents, such as a General Educational Development Certificate (GED).
Students without a grade 12 diploma or equivalent will not be eligible to be registered as an apprentice.
Students can complete the grade 12 or equivalent while in the hairstyling program; however, the diploma or equivalent must be obtained prior to seeking acceptance as an apprentice.
Students who study hairstyling at a private career college must complete a total of 1500 hours of instruction as outlined in the training standard for the hairstylist trade.
You can reach the Hairstylist Apprenticeship Training Standard Log Book- 332A – 2013 at this link.
- have a sponsor in Ontario:
A sponsor is a licensed hairstylist who provides you with on-the-job training.
You can see detailed sponsor/mentorship information in the next section.
Qualifications Requirements
- How to Find a Sponsor
A sponsor is someone who provides you with apprenticeship training.
Below is a list of ways to find a sponsor/mentor for your apprenticeship:
Guidance counsellor: If you’re in high school, ask your guidance counsellor for advice and referrals for the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program and other programs (Specialist High Skills Major, dual credit program.)
Colleges: Most colleges have an employment office or can direct students to a career centre to help find apprenticeship opportunities.
Online: Visit the Ontario job bank to post your resume and availability for an apprenticeship in your chosen trade.
Employment Ontario Offices: These offices are scattered across the province, and these offices offer employment services and training opportunities, like matching apprentices to sponsors.
Local Salons: Research local professional hairstylists and barber salons. Try your local online resources, newspapers, or other directories.
Your network: ask around to see if anyone you know is in the hairstylist trades and if they are hiring or know someone who is hiring.
Application and tracking of the apprenticeship training process are made overThe Skilled Trades Ontario Portal. This portal provides individuals with secure access to online services. As the
How to Find a Sponsor
The government of Ontario hosts the Skilled Trades Ontario Portal, and creating a “My Ontario Account” is required to access services online both for sponsors and apprentices.
There is an extra step prior to online registration if your sponsor does not have a Sponsor ID. Your sponsor must be approved by the Ministry as a sponsor, have a Ministry-issued Sponsor ID# and have registered at least one apprentice to begin using the online application. To apply on behalf of the first apprentice, your sponsor should complete the paper application form and submit it to the local Ontario Apprenticeship Office.
After the approval of the first apprenticeship, your sponsor can create your registration via the online portal.
If your sponsor has registered an apprentice(s) in the past and would like to train you as an additional apprentice, the sponsor can create a Skilled Trades Ontario Portal account by fulfilling the following steps to start an online apprenticeship training application.
*Your sponsor will need to have a Ministry-issued Sponsor ID# to access your sponsor’s Skilled Trades Ontario account online. If the sponsor does not remember or does not have a Ministry-issued Sponsor ID#, contact the Employment Ontario Contact Centre toll-free at 1-800-387-5656 (TTY: 1-866-533-6339) or your local Employment Ontario Apprenticeship office for the steps to follow.
**If you or your sponsor does not remember your login email address, Contact Skilled Trades Ontario at (647)-847-3000 or toll-free (Ontario only) 1-855-299-0028, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm EST to find out what email address to use when creating your My Ontario account.
- How to Sign up
as an Apprentice:
You can apply online through the Skilled Trades Ontario Portal. This link will take you to a Public Secure account setup page. By creating an account, you will then be able to apply for the apprenticeship program.
Before you begin the application process, make sure you have this information handy:
- Your personal information:
- Social Insurance Number (SIN)
- full mailing address
- email address (the Ministry will send notices about your apprenticeship training to this email address.)
- Sponsor’s information:
- full legal name (often different than the business name)
- full mailing address
- business phone number
- Sponsor contact person’s information:
- first and last name
- phone number
- email address
- Sponsor ID#
- Work arrangement details:
- start date with the sponsor
- number of work and training hours per week
Information Requirements
If you’re OYAP-related College Student;
You must download a paper application.
- save the application to your computer,
- fill out the application
- print the application, and sign it
- get your parent or guardian and your sponsor to sign it
- mail (or submit it in person) the completed, signed application to your local Ontario apprenticeship training office. (34 Ontario Apprenticeship Offices across the Ontario province).
Once your application is reviewed, you and your sponsor will be notified it was approved
Sign Up Process
With the successful submission of your apprenticeship application, you will receive an automatic email from your local Ontario Apprenticeship Office with related email & phone contact information. You can always check your application status at the Skilled Trades Ontario Portal Home Dashboard.
- How to Fill in a Training Agreement
Once your apprenticeship application has been approved, you and your sponsor will then sign a training agreement confirming the terms of the apprenticeship, and the Ministry will also register your sponsor’s signed training agreement.
The agreement confirms that:
- As a registered apprentice, you can apply for provincial and federal financial incentives.
- If you don’t have any College or Private School credit, your sponsor ensures that as an apprentice, you will have time to complete the formal in-school training. Your local Ontario apprenticeship office will formally invite you to attend the in-school training. This in-school training does not apply to the candidates coming with OYAP course credits.
- Your sponsor will confirm when you, as a hairstylist apprentice, have completed your workplace training based on apprenticeship training standards, hours logged, and skills acquired.
1.1.3 Sign-up Procedure
Complete an apprenticeship
Certificate of Apprenticeship
Your sponsor must send the local apprenticeship office documents stating you’ve completed your training. This could be a letter from the sponsor and proof of sign-off of the apprenticeship training standard logbook. You or your sponsor are encouraged to speak with your Ministry training consultant to confirm completion requirements when you’re ready to complete the hairstylist apprenticeship.
When you complete your training as an apprentice, you receive a Certificate of Apprenticeship. The Ministry will send the certificate to you within six weeks from the time the Ministry receives your completion package.
Provisional Certificate of Qualification
After your Training Consultant has confirmed completion of all training requirements, you will be issued a Provisional Certificate of Qualification for a one-year period. During this one-year period, you are eligible to write your Certificate of Qualification examination.
To become a licensed hairstylist, you are required to write the Certificate of Qualification exam,
The Certificate of Qualification exam is multiple-choice for all trades. You need to score at least 70% to pass,
Arrange the exam
To arrange the exam, you need to:
- contact Skilled Trades Ontario to pay the exam fee of $150 (+HST)
- 1-855-299-0028 (toll-free)
- 647-847-3000 (GTA)
- contact your local apprenticeship office to book a date for your exam
- exams are offered year-round in the Ontario apprenticeship offices and exam centres across the province
Once you’ve paid the fee and scheduled the exam, you can start preparing for it using the Exam Preparation Guide from Skilled Trades Ontario.
