It\u2019s an appealing employment pathway for young people who find school or study isn\u2019t for them. Although the vast majority of Mr Barber students are under 25, like 92% of last year\u2019s intake, some are in their 30s or 40s and changing careers (hairdressing and barbering have both been assessed as low risk for replacement by AI<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Donna, 42, left behind a corporate career and has nearly finished her training course. \u201cIt\u2019s been awesome.\u201d She\u2019s looking for a work placement but many barber shops want two years\u2019 experience. She sometimes worries about her age and gender \u2013\u00a0though it\u2019s traditionally been a male domain, around 30% of the students at Mr Barber are women. Donna\u2019s learning the trade to support her own business, making hairpieces for men experiencing male pattern baldness. \u201cFor a long, long time in my career I was just chasing money because I was a single mum, but my kids are older now and I\u2019ve always wanted to have my own business,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut it\u2019s quite scary to give up that security and come here.\u201d<\/p>\n The average income for hairdressers and barbers is $44,000, although it can go as high as $100,000. Barber shops usually operate like tattoo parlours, with employees renting a station and paying a percentage of their income to the shop, although some are paid an hourly rate. Do people understand the skill involved in cutting hair? \u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d says Donna. \u201cI think a lot of people take that for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n Another trainee, Ben, is nearby, cutting a client\u2019s hair. He\u2019s 30 and used to work in construction, which took a physical toll on him. He\u2019s learning barbering so he can help his mother in her beauty salon.<\/p>\n After training at Mr Barber, which is NZQA-registered and the only dedicated barbering school in Auckland, students have to do a further 780 hours at a commercial barber shop before they\u2019re assessed and can receive their level four qualification. Other schools, like Servilles Academy and most polytechs, also offer courses for the same qualification, the level four New Zealand Certificate in Commercial Barbering. According to NZQA, 312 people received the qualification in 2025. Wherever they study, trainee barbers also have to learn to trim facial hair and do wet shaves. Hairdressing qualifications are a little different, and include skills like colouring, future hair treatment and home hair care. Under New Zealand law, anyone can cut hair and certification isn\u2019t required. The 2025 Hairdressing and Barbering Industry Regulatory Review<\/a> found only 60% of barbers and hairdressers hold qualifications (although lacking them wasn\u2019t indicative of reduced quality or safety).<\/p>\n Social media and public figures have contributed to the destigmatisation of appearance regimens for men and driven an increase in trends. These can be hard to keep up with. Lauren, 31, who started training last year, spends a lot of time staying on top of the latest haircuts. \u201cBarbering is evolving so much, even in the time that I\u2019ve started,\u201d she says. Lauren left a corporate job in Sydney to come home and learn the trade and now works at a couple of different barbershops \u2013 Mr Barber\u2019s commercial shop and Latenights the Barbershop in Mount Eden. There she often gets asked for a warrior cut, but hair styles are different for every client. \u201cThey trust you more when you get to know them.\u201d She loves the creativity involved in the job and \u201chelping people\u201d, and eventually wants to have her own business. Barbering can be a part-time gig and it\u2019s common for barbers to have other jobs as well (lots of firefighters also cut hair on the side, she reckons), but in a competitive industry, \u201cyou need to get out there and push yourself\u201d.<\/p>\n Getting work isn\u2019t always easy for newly qualified barbers, but staffing also presents a challenge for the local industry, with some businesses struggling to find and retain<\/a> qualified barbers (other countries, including the US<\/a>, UK and Georgia<\/a>, have had similar issues).<\/p>\n Ziad joined his brother\u2019s business, Top Barber on Symonds Street, three years ago when he was 17. He started cutting hair at home during Covid, learning the basics from YouTube. After dropping out of school at 16 he decided to study barbering and got qualified. Learning the trade properly takes you at least a year, he explains, although he likens it more to an art. Young guys come to Ziad for fades and more experimental cuts, but most of their customers are local office workers.The best part of his job is getting to know people. \u201cI\u2019ve got clients everywhere, all over town,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople recognise you in the street. It\u2019s nice.\u201d<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not cruisy. Standing on your feet all day can take a toll and back pain is a common concern. And then there are the challenges of business; like other discretionary industries \u2013 although you could argue haircuts are a necessity \u2013 barbers have been buffeted by reduced consumer spending. \u201cPeople are getting haircuts once a month instead of twice,\u201d explains Ziad. That kind of change in behaviour can have a major impact on a high-traffic business like a barber shop.<\/p>\n Consumer confidence was down again in June<\/a>, reaching levels not seen since 2023. (Stats released before the US-Iran peace agreement.) Of people surveyed by Westpac<\/a>, 84% had changed their spending and 43% were cutting back on non-essentials. This has put pressure on a sector, recently described as stagnant<\/a> by Hair & Barber New Zealand, which represents 10% of the industry. Saving it from decline are younger customers and digitally driven demand. And things might be looking up<\/a>, finally.\u00a0<\/p>\nFrom horse tails and warrior cuts to mullets and burst fades, styles have moved on since the omnipresent broccoli cut<\/a>. (Source: TikTok)<\/p>\n
Ben and Lauren both changed careers to study barbering (Photos: The Spinoff)<\/p>\n
Tools of the trade at Top Barber, including the now essential ring lights. (Photo: The Spinoff)<\/p>\n