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Hairdresser and barber apprenticeships in New Zealand
Kaikuti makawe
Hairdressers cut, style and colour hair; barbers shave and trim hair, moustaches and beards.
The facts
- How long it takes
- 0–3 years
- Pay when starting out
- $24 an hour
- Most common pay
- $24–$33 an hour
- Experienced
- $43 an hour
- School qualifications
- NCEA Level 2 if you are still at school.
- Registration
- Not required for this trade.
Those pay ranges are for the job, not for an apprentice. While you are training your legal floor is the training minimum wage of $19.16 an hour if you are 20 or over and your agreement requires at least 60 credits a year of industry training; otherwise it is the adult minimum of $23.95. Plenty of employers pay well above either. How apprentice pay works →
What you need to start
- An apprenticeship in hairdressing.
- An intermediate certificate in hairdressing is an alternative route.
In every trade the order is the same: you find the employer first, then the training is arranged around the job. How to get an apprenticeship →
Employers listed in hairdresser and barber work (3)
New Zealand businesses in this trade that take on apprentices. Name, trade and region only — this site holds no reviews or ratings.
Pay, duration and entry requirements quoted from Tahatū Career Navigator — Hairdresser and barber, read 2026-09-18. Wage floors from Employment New Zealand, checked 2026-09-18.