How to Become a Hairstylist Apprentice in Manitoba
Become a hairstylist apprentice in Manitoba: register with Apprenticeship Manitoba, complete two levels of training, and pass the Red Seal and practical exams.
How to Become a Hairstylist Apprentice in Alberta
Become a hairstylist apprentice in Alberta: find a sponsor, register with Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, and complete two periods toward the Red Seal.
Applies in: Alberta
The short answer
To become a hairstylist in Alberta you register as an apprentice with Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, work under a certified journeyperson in a salon, and complete a two-period apprenticeship that ends with a journeyperson certificate and the option of a Red Seal endorsement. Hairstylist is a compulsory certification trade in Alberta — you must be a certified journeyperson or a registered apprentice to perform restricted activities in the trade.
The route, in order, is: meet the entrance requirements, find a sponsor and register as an apprentice, complete two periods of on-the-job and classroom training, pass the theory exam in each period, and write the Red Seal exam in the final period if you want the endorsement. Do not carry British Columbia's or Ontario's steps into this guide — Alberta's hours, schools, and trade regulation are its own.
Step 1 — Meet the entrance requirements
The entrance requirements for the apprenticeship are English 10-2 and Math 10-3, or a GED or CAEC, or the entrance exam. You do not need a full cosmetology diploma to start the apprenticeship route — the apprenticeship itself is the training. If you already completed a full-time cosmetology program at an approved institution, ask Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training what credit it carries; the rules on credit for prior training have changed over time and are decided case by case.
Step 2 — Find a sponsor and register as an apprentice
Get hired by a salon. Your supervisor should be a certified journeyperson hairstylist who trains you and confirms your hours. Register as an apprentice with Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training once you have the job — because the trade is compulsory, registration is what lets you work legally while you learn. Your on-the-job hours are logged across the two periods, and your supervisor confirms them.
Step 3 — Complete two periods of training
The apprenticeship runs for two periods of at least 12 months each. In each period you complete at least 1,450 hours of on-the-job training and 10 weeks of classroom instruction, for a total of at least 2,900 hours on the job plus 20 weeks in class. Each period is designed to take about one year. Classroom instruction is delivered through M.C. College in Edmonton and NIWE Academy in Calgary, and Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training arranges your technical training.
Step 4 — Pass the theory exam in each period
A theory exam is required to complete each period. You must pass the period's theory exam along with the on-the-job hours and technical training before you move on. The exams test the theory behind the practical work — cutting, colouring, chemical texturing, and the rest of the trade's tasks as set out in the Hairstylist Trade Regulation.
Step 5 — Write the Red Seal exam
In the final period you have the option of writing the interprovincial Red Seal examination. Passing it adds the Red Seal endorsement to your journeyperson certificate, which lets you work as a hairstylist in other provinces and territories without re-certifying. Completing the apprenticeship earns the journeyperson certificate; the Red Seal endorsement is optional but is the standard way to make the credential portable across Canada.
The trades qualifier route
If you already have years of experience as a hairstylist but never apprenticed, the Trades Qualifier Program is the alternative. You need 36 months and 4,350 hours of verifiable hairstylist work experience, then you pass a theory exam and a practical exam. The practical exam costs $75. The qualifier route leads to the same journeyperson certificate, and the Red Seal exam is available on completion of the apprenticeship in the trade.
What apprentices earn
Job Bank's wages for hairstylist apprentices in Alberta, updated November 19, 2025 (reference period 2023–2024), are $15.00 an hour at the low end, $19.23 at the median, and $26.00 at the high end. Across Canada the median is $19.88 an hour. These are survey wages for the occupation, not a regulated apprentice rate — your pay is set by the salon that hires you, and it rises with experience toward the journeyperson rate.
What the opened pages do not state
The Tradesecrets page opened for this guide does not publish the apprenticeship registration fee, the technical training tuition, or the theory exam fee, so this guide prints no fee figures for those items; the only fee the page states is the $75 practical exam for trade qualifiers. The page does not publish a processing timeline for apprentice registration, so this guide gives none. This guide gives no advice on whether you qualify — that is Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training's decision when it assesses your application. Job Bank's NOC 63210 page confirms trade certification is compulsory in Alberta, but it does not set Alberta's rules — Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training does.
Related guides:
- How to Become a Hairstylist Apprentice in British Columbia — the BC route, where the same trade is voluntary rather than compulsory.
- How to Become a Hairstylist Apprentice in Ontario — the Ontario route, a compulsory trade with a different program shape.
- How to Get Your Red Seal Endorsement in Canada — what the Red Seal endorsement is and how it works across provinces.
- How to Start a Plumbing Apprenticeship in Canada — another skilled-trade apprenticeship route, for comparison with the hairstylist program.
Becoming a hairstylist apprentice in Alberta, in five steps
- Meet the entrance requirementsEnglish 10-2 and Math 10-3, or a GED or CAEC, or the entrance exam.
- Find a sponsor and register as an apprenticeGet hired by a salon with a certified journeyperson to supervise and confirm your hours.
- Complete two periods of trainingEach period is at least 12 months, with 1,450 hours of on-the-job training and 10 weeks of classroom instruction.
- Pass the theory exam in each periodA theory exam is required to complete each period.
- Write the Red Seal examThe Red Seal exam is an option in the final period, and the journeyperson certificate follows.
Questions people ask
Is hairstylist a compulsory trade in Alberta?
Yes. Hairstylist is a designated trade in Alberta, and certification is compulsory — journeyperson certification or registration as an apprentice is compulsory to perform restricted activities in the trade. Job Bank lists hairstylists under NOC 63210 and states that trade certification for hairstylists is compulsory in Alberta, as well as in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, and available but voluntary in the other provinces and territories.
How long is the Alberta hairstylist apprenticeship?
Two periods of at least 12 months each. In each period you complete at least 1,450 hours of on-the-job training and 10 weeks of classroom instruction, and you must pass a theory exam to complete the period. Each period is designed to take about one year, so the program takes about two years in total.
What are the entrance requirements for the Alberta hairstylist apprenticeship?
English 10-2 and Math 10-3, or a GED or CAEC, or the entrance exam. You also need a sponsor: a salon that hires you and a certified journeyperson to supervise your work and confirm your hours. Technical training is delivered through M.C. College in Edmonton and NIWE Academy in Calgary.
What exams do I write as a hairstylist apprentice in Alberta?
A theory exam closes each period — you must pass it to move on. In the final period you can also sit the interprovincial Red Seal examination. Pass that and the endorsement goes on your journeyperson certificate. Skip it and you still finish the apprenticeship with the certificate itself; the endorsement is about portability, not about finishing.
Is there a route for experienced hairstylists who never apprenticed?
Yes, the Trades Qualifier Program. You need 36 months and 4,350 hours of verifiable hairstylist work experience, then you pass a theory exam and a practical exam, which costs 75 dollars. The practical exam fee is the one fee the Tradesecrets page states plainly; other fees are not published on the page this guide draws on, so check the current fee schedule before you pay.
Can I work as a hairstylist in Alberta without registering?
No. Because the trade is compulsory, you must be a certified journeyperson or a registered apprentice to perform restricted activities in the trade. If you are hired by a salon without certification, register as an apprentice right away — that registration is what lets you work legally while you learn.
Sources
- Tradesecrets Alberta, Hairstylist — the two-period program, 1,450 hours and 10 weeks of classroom instruction per period, the entrance requirements, the schools, the trades qualifier route with the $75 practical exam, and the Red Seal exam option.
- Tradesecrets Alberta, Red Seal Trades in Alberta — hairstylist as a Red Seal trade and a compulsory trade in Alberta.
- Alberta Regulation 3/2020, Hairstylist Trade Regulation — the two periods of at least 12 months and at least 1,450 hours of on-the-job training per period.
- Job Bank, Hairstylist Apprentice in Manitoba — Job Requirements — NOC 63210, trade certification compulsory in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, and the Red Seal endorsement on passing the interprovincial exam.
- Job Bank, Hairstylist Apprentice in Alberta — Wages — Alberta apprentice wages of $15.00 low, $19.23 median, and $26.00 high per hour, updated November 19, 2025, reference period 2023–2024.