In addition to classroom work, hairdressing NVQ students have to pass work-based exercises in order to qualify as hair stylists. These work-based exercises have to be assessed against agreed standards of competence by a suitably qualified hair stylist. Until now, all assessment of NVQ students' practical work in the salon here at Toppers – currently Stacey and Ellis – has been done by me, but now Michelle has begun her NVQ A2 Assessor Course, which will qualify Michelle to take over from me when I am out of the salon.
The A2 takes about three months to complete and involves three salon-based assessments of Michelle assessing NVQ students in their normal work environment. Once Michelle has passed her assessments and completed her book work, she will be signed off as an A2 Assessor.
The assessor's course covers all aspects of hairdressing – practical and theoretical – so once Michelle passes the A2, she will be qualified to assess Stacey and Ellis's abilities from basic shampooing, through product knowledge, to the most bizarre cut. She will be able to train and assess any junior who works here at Toppers Hair Design, ensuring we keep up the highest standards of hairdressing excellence in Ely.
