West Island high school students learn to snip their way into a career during 10-week program

At just 18, Nasir Abdul Wahab is already a cutting-edge entrepreneur who has been diving into the online retail business all on his own.

But he also has an interest in cutting hair. He is particularly keen on giving taper fades because, he said, "that's just the style nowadays." 

Thanks to a new 10-week program offered to students from John Rennie High School in Pointe-Claire, Que., Wahab is learning not only how to match today's hairstyle trends but also how to run a barbershop business.

Lester B. Pearson School Board says a group of students was interested in learning about cutting hair and running a barber shop under the guiding hand of William Biney, who owns Quality Cuts West Island in nearby Pierrefonds.

Biney offers a barber certificate to those who complete his twice-weekly program and is known for hiring graduates or connecting them with other hair salon owners in the region. But it's not cheap to participate, so the school board is covering the cost with a Ministry of Education grant.

While three students are from the school's mainstream curriculum, three others are participants in the provincial program, Certificat de formation en entreprise et récupération (CFER). It's for kids 15 and up who likely won't graduate.

Rather than focusing only on academic knowledge, CFER aims to develop autonomous students, engaged citizens and productive workers. It's a three-year program that students can stay in until they're 21.

"We're trying to break away from the model that you need to graduate high school to be successful," said Davion Campbell, the teacher in charge of CFER at John Rennie.

"So now we're trying to work with kids and show them, you know what? There are other avenues you can go down and be successful."

These aren't jobs with million-dollar salaries, but they are a way to make a living and provide for a family, Campbell said.

Cutting hair is exactly the kind of job skill Campbell wants to teach his students. He saw his students were interested in taking lessons at Quality Cuts, so he pushed to give them the opportunity — ensuring they could get a barbering certificate without paying out of pocket.

Once they complete the program, he said, these students can start working if they'd like.

Biney said he launched his teaching program with the goal of showing students about more than just cutting hair. He wants them to understand the business and lifestyle.

Biney said he was concerned by the number of people entering the business with the ability to give only one cut-and-paste haircut. So he created a curriculum that teaches students how to cut all hair types and textures.

"If you consider yourself a barber, you should know all the different textures," said Biney, who wants his students to be able to welcome people of all nationalities into their shops.

Being able to do that, he added, will add to their earning potential. 

Campbell said his students are enthusiastic — already doing the math of how much they could make just giving one haircut a day to their fellow students during lunch at John Rennie High School.

"When they heard about it, they jumped on board," he said. "Some of them already had their clippers when they came here."

This special,10-week program offers a barber certificate that shows a job seeker has training, but it's not a the same as a government-approved degree. For those seeking more intense training, the Lester B. Pearson School Board has a continuing education and vocational training at the Gordon Robertson Beauty Academy in Beaconsfield.

To get a diploma of vocational studies, a student must be at least 18 and complete a 14-month training program on site that includes 1,455 hours of instruction. Participants are required to have completed Grade 10 in a Quebec high school or have at least a high school diploma.