Hair & Beauty industry is one of the developed industries in Pakistan. In the early stage of industry development, beauty salons were relatively small in scale, mostly small shops either located in a shopping mall or occupying an upstairs flat. With the growing concern about one’s personal appearance, the Hair & Beauty industry has grown significantly in recent years. Large beauty salon chains mushroomed alongside the emergence of a wide variety of Hair & Beauty products, tools and equipment in the market. Hair & Beauty salons also expanded their range of services to include training programme in addition to Hair & Beauty care treatments and the sale of products. As a result, there are numerous training providers offering a vast variety of courses for Hair & Beauty experts. As Hair & Beauty is a highly skill-based industry, professional training is imperative to its development. Traditionally, Hair & Beauty experts have been trained as apprentices, and recently some companies have adopted international standards in their training programme. As a result, the standards of the education and training programme vary to considerable extent. With the gradual emergence of a knowledge-based society, more effective flow of information and more sophisticated consumers, the industry has seen a burgeoning demand for professional Hair & Beauty services. In the long run, it must work towards internationalization and professionalization as well as improving the skills level of Hair & Beauty experts and enabling them to integrate theory with practice, so as to enhance the quality of Hair & Beauty services in Pakistan.

PURPOSE OF THE QUALIFICATION

The competency based NVQ has been developed to train the unskilled men and women of Pakistan on the technical and entrepreneurial skills to be employed / self-employed and inevitably set sustainable impact on their lives by increase in their livelihood income generation.

The purpose of these qualifications is to set professional standards for Hair & Beauty Experts, who will serve as key elements enhancing quality of Pakistan’s Hair & Beauty industry. The specific objectives of developing these qualifications are as under:

• Improve the professional competence of Hair & Beauty industry
• Capacitate the local community and trainers in modern CBT trainings, methodologies and processes as envisaged under NVQF
• Provide flexible pathways and progressions in Hair & Beauty industry
• Enable the trainees to perform their duties in efficient manner
• Establish a standardized and sustainable system of training in Hair & Beauty industry in Pakistan

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

• The entry requirement to National Vocational Certificate Level-2 in Hair and Beauty Services (Assistant Artist) is Middle or Matric.

• For National Vocational Certificate Level-3 in Hair and Beauty Services (Junior Artist), the entry requirement is award of National Vocational Certificate Level-2 in Hair and Beauty Services (Assistant Artist).

• For National Vocational Certificate Level-4 in Hair and Beauty Services (Senior Artist), the entry requirement is award of National Vocational Certificate Level-3 in Hair and Beauty Services (Junior Artist).