Blush Academy, Roodepoort

Barbering at Blush Academy is one taught component inside a three year hairdressing qualification, not a barbering course in its own right. It is listed here because the qualification is a genuine national one and the barbering content is really taught and assessed, but anyone looking for a short barber course should stop reading now.

The qualification is the National Occupational Certificate in Hairdressing at NQF Level 4, SAQA ID 102497. The structure is one year at the academy on Ontdekkers Road in Roodepoort covering the knowledge and practical modules, followed by two years of full time workplace experience in a registered salon. The syllabus covers men’s and women’s cutting, and lists barbering as a hot towel and shaving service alongside cutting and shaping gents hair.

Accreditation is the strongest of any South African provider in this directory, and every number is published rather than merely claimed. QCTO training provider 07-QCTO/SDP260423101520, QCTO trade test centre 07-QCTO/AC-TTC130323230818, Services SETA 3956 with workplace approval WPA2022090085SSETA, and internationally VTCT 2531/001, iTEC X500473, City and Guilds 848424 and SAAHSP 2768.

Fees are published too, which is rarer still. Tuition is R86,000, and a further R42,000 covers kit, uniform, materials, registration, assessment, international exam entry and textbooks, so R128,000 in total, with payment plans offered. That is a serious commitment for a course in which barbering is one module rather than the subject, and it is worth weighing against a dedicated barbering short course if gents work is all you intend to do.