How to Become a Hairstylist Apprentice in Quebec

The short answer

Quebec's route runs through school first, then a paid workplace apprenticeship. The standard path is a DEP in hairdressing — the Diplôme d'études professionnelles, or Diploma of Vocational Studies — followed by the Workplace Apprenticeship Program (in French, the Programme d'apprentissage en milieu de travail) in a salon, under an experienced companion. Certification is voluntary in Quebec, and the Red Seal endorsement comes from passing the Interprovincial Examination.

Step 1: Earn a DEP in hairdressing

The hairdressing program runs 1,455 hours and trains you to cut and style hair according to the needs and demands of clients. The entry level is Secondary 4 or the equivalent. Training centres across Quebec run the program in 10 to 18 months, depending on the centre, and the program ends with a three-week practicum in a partnership salon or a salon of your choice. Most training programs are offered in French only, so expect to study in French unless you find one of the English-language centres.

The program covers shampooing, hair treatments, scalp treatments, styling, setting, women's haircuts, men's tapered cuts, beard trimming, perms, and colour, including pastel shades, colour correction, and creative colouring. You also learn to give personalized hairdressing to match a client's expectations, shape, and features, while applying hygiene, health, and safety rules.

Step 2: Enter the Workplace Apprenticeship Program

Hairstylist is one of the occupations covered by Quebec's Workplace Apprenticeship Program. The program pairs you with a companion (compagne or compagnon) in a salon, and it leads to a certificate of qualification for the trade. The trade is recognized under the Red Seal program.

The apprenticeship lasts 12 months if you hold a DEP in hairdressing, or 24 months if you hold a diploma from a private school, have no diploma, or have no experience in the trade. The exact length varies with your experience, how the work is organized, and your schooling.

Your companion must have solid experience in the trade and meet one of four conditions: at least eight years of experience in the trade; at least five years of experience plus a DEP in hairdressing; the certificate of qualification for hairdresser; or a category A qualification card in ladies' hairdressing. One companion can supervise at most two apprentices at a time.

During the apprenticeship you must master eight core skills: interacting in varied work situations; advising clients on services and products; shampooing and hair care; cutting hair; styling hair; changing hair texture; changing hair colour; and administrative work. Two extra skills — shaving or trimming beards and facial hair, and management work — earn a separate attestation of competence.

Step 3: Get the Red Seal endorsement

Qualified hairstylists receive a Red Seal endorsement on successful completion of the Interprovincial Examination. The Red Seal program lets qualified workers practise their trade in the provinces and territories that take part in the program.

If you already have experience but no diploma

Quebec has a recognition route for experienced workers. If you already master all the core skills for the trade, you can have your skills and experience recognized to get the certificate of qualification, even without a diploma in the trade. The usual conditions are one of three: a DEP in hairdressing plus three years of full-time work experience; a diploma in hairdressing from a private school plus four years of full-time experience; or at least five years of experience in hairdressing. For more information, contact the sectoral workforce committee for personal care services, Soins personnels Québec, or Qualifications Québec, or visit your nearest Services Québec office.

What the opened pages do not state

The Quebec pages opened for this guide do not publish a fee for the Workplace Apprenticeship Program or for the certificate of qualification, so this guide states no fee. They also do not publish Red Seal exam dates or fees in Quebec, or a pass mark for the Interprovincial Examination, so this guide gives none. The program listings show costs for international students only, so this guide states no tuition figure for Quebec residents. The opened pages do not state how many apprentices a salon can take on beyond the two-per-companion limit, so this guide states no salon-wide number.

Related guides:

• How to Become a Hairstylist Apprentice in Ontario — Ontario's compulsory trade at 3,500 hours, with a salon sponsor and two school levels.
• How to Become a Hairstylist Apprentice in Alberta — Alberta's sponsor-first route with two periods of training toward the Red Seal.
• How to Become a Hairstylist Apprentice in Manitoba — Manitoba's two levels of 1,800 hours each, plus written and practical exams.
• How to Become a Hairstylist Apprentice in British Columbia — British Columbia's route for the same trade.
• How to Become an Electrician Apprentice in Quebec — another Quebec trade with its own DEP and apprenticeship route.
• How to Become a Plumber Apprentice in Quebec — Quebec's plumbing apprenticeship route.

Where hairstylists work in Quebec

The Quebec standard for the trade is aimed mainly at people working in a hair salon, and a salon can sit in several kinds of places: a private residence, a commercial space, a shopping centre, a hospital setting, a residence for seniors, a care home, or a film or television studio. About half of hair salons are run by employers and the rest by self-employed workers. Some salons are multiservice and also offer beauty care such as makeup and massage, product sales, advice, scalp analysis, beard trimming, and hair extensions. Where you apprentice shapes the work you see day to day, so ask a salon what services it actually offers before you sign on. The details are on the Gouvernement du Québec page for the hairdresser certificate.

Sources

• Gouvernement du Québec, Hairstylists — the Red Seal endorsement on passing the Interprovincial Examination, the Workplace Apprenticeship Program covering hairstylist, and most training programs offered in French only.
• Gouvernement du Québec, Coiffeuse ou coiffeur — the 12-month and 24-month apprenticeship lengths, the companion conditions, the two-apprentice limit, the core skills, the complementary skills, the Red Seal recognition, and the recognition-of-experience conditions.
• Québec métiers d'avenir, Training – Hairdressing — the 1,455-hour program length, the Secondary 4 entry level, the 10- to 18-month durations at training centres, and the training objectives.
• Inforoute FPT, Hairdressing — the three-week practicum in a partnership salon or a salon of the student's choice.
• Job Bank, Hairdresser in Québec | Job requirements — secondary school required, a one- or two-year hairstyling apprenticeship or college program usually required, and trade certification voluntary in Quebec.