Strengths & Results

Strengths & Results

by | Jul 26, 2021 | Education

We are often asked the question as a hair educator, ‘What are your strengths and how do you measure success?’

The strength question is impossible to answer without really first talking about why we’re passionate about delivering education in the hair industry. The hair industry has given us everything. Hairdressing been the cornerstone for multiple generations of my family, and it’s built the lives of the team and provided security and supported all our dreams.

We believe that every person who joins the industry deserves the same opportunity to be able to build amazing successful careers. And our goal is for anyone with a passion for hair to have the same opportunities our family has been so fortunate enough to have been afforded through access to incredible education and mentors, so that they can make their own dreams a reality.

In saying that, we try and do things a little differently than other RTO’s. Our apprentice builder program is fully digital, and includes an industry first apprentice video assessment upload capability. We have an online education presence unrivaled in formal training.

MIG’s YouTube channel has a million views, and over 10,000 subscribers. We publish content and education thought leadership by our industry media and our social platforms in order to try and attract the next best and brightest.

But how do we measure success, we measure it by our results. We’re blessed to be working with Australian Apprentice of the Year Paige Cameron from Cobelle Creative. We work closely with Queensland Hairdresser of the Year Amy Gaudie training her Urban Chic team. We’ve qualified 3000 industry professionals over the past 30 years. And we’ve twice been education organisation of the year finalist, once at Hair Expo and once at the Australian Hair Industry Awards.

At MIG, we work with many great salons and barbershops to train their people. We’d love to be your trusted education partner. And if you’d like to find out how we can work with you, it would be great to connect. Thank you.

The MIG Method

The MIG Method

by | Jul 19, 2021 | Education

I just like to talk to you a bit about our principles and method for education.
What we feel makes us unique is that we have a set of education principles that recognize the burning issues and problems that our salons and barbershops face. We work with these boutique businesses to really help them deliver a profitable business that provides them with peace of mind through their people. We call this their “Signature Salon Team.”

Many of our clients feel that they’re working tirelessly for little reward and ever increasing worry and they really face three common problems; firstly, uncertainty in finding and retaining quality hairdressers and barbers. Secondly, sleepless nights that are associated with having a team that’s not functioning quite right. And finally burnout from juggling all the balls at once, as an owner, stylist, marketer, counselor and financial controller. So the prize that our clients are seeking is profit, peace of mind and above all that their salon or barbershop is an expression of their personality in essence to create this signature salon team.

At MIG, our signature salon method has four principles that we think are really important and helps our clients to stand out, make an impact and grow their business. These elements are: design, professionalism, technical skills, and communication. So, having efficient systems, creates the space to build your team and are a critical design element. Being professional sets the standard. Living that standard attracts quality people, quality clients and industry recognition. Technical skills, team knowledge and skills that are on point creates a team that can take on any new challenge that’s put in front of it. And finally communication, having a clear identity. Sharing of those ideas creates a cohesive team and creates industry recognition.

At MIG, we use the four step signature salon method in our flagship apprentice builder program, and it really turns the Certificate III on its head. Understanding the problems and the prize helps us to build a program that meets all the needs of our salons that we work with. The apprentice builder program provides customised in-salon training plans. They provide Salon supervisor coaching and mentoring. It sets the standard for the individual apprentice to follow, but also provides a gateway to industry through our education partners. It has a strong technical skills focus, but one that deals with culture, communication and consultation.

We do this in an anywhere anytime digital learning and assessment platform, which then combines the practical hands on skills education. We have dedicated mentors, as well as formal progression and skills accountability, and above all access to a community apprentices and peer support that’s second to none. We work with many great names in hairdressing. We’d love to connect with your business to be able to help you create your signature salon team. And as we say to all of our students each and every day, Be Brave, Have Fun, Dare to Be Different.

RTO Select: The Gold Standard in Education

RTO Select: The Gold Standard in Education

by | Jul 12, 2021 | Education

Once you’ve recruited an apprentice, one of the first decisions that you need to make is which RTO to partner with. And this partnership is really important, as quality training can mean the difference between a profitable team member and someone who’s struggling or underperforming in the workplace. And whilst the considerations are many, one way to feel confident about your choice of training provider is to look at the accreditation system that’s really quite unique to the hair industry.

The Australian Hairdressing Council or AHC, through its RTO Select accreditation process benchmarks quality RTO’s against the gold standard of hairdressing training. RTO Select recognises quality education and really provides a signpost for employers so that they can feel comfortable that the RTO that they’ve chosen is one of the very best in the country. The AHC has has a membership of salons, product companies, RTO’s, individuals, and associated industry suppliers.  And they all share a united vision to promote and protect the industry.

That’s really based around four key central pillars. It’s about:  Education – so raising industry standards, Connection -or bringing us all together, Informing -being that voice to government and Supporting – providing HR support and other types of support to help build and grow small business. Out of this RTO select was born. And it’s a set of 7 standards that an RTO must reach in order to be accredited. And these standards have been developed ostensibly by salon owners in the end for salon owners to help them to make their decisions.

Standard 1 is education leadership and this standard looks to ensure RTO’s have a business strategy, a vision and a mission that’s aligned to the industry.

Standard 2 is recognition, so does the RTO provide recognition of in-salon, product company and other prior training in that process of educating an apprentice?

Standard 3, communication and engagement. So quality communication with salons and apprentices is key to great training, and systematic and ongoing engagement with the hair industry is equally as important.

Standard 4 is all around training and assessment resources. Is the RTO’s resources current and engaging and do they relate to the salon experience?

Standard 5, currency of trainers. A top level hairdressing trainer will have great skills in their trade, but that will also be combined with vocational knowledge that’s really important.

Standard 6 is around salon design, operation and clients. So is the college designed for high end professional training and does it provide a real salon experience.

Finally, standard 7 is environmental and social responsibility, the college needs to actively support awareness and participate in environmental sustainability, both at the college and also in the industry. So the next generation can take our lead and build a sustainable industry. As an education business to be recognised as gold standard by the industry, you train is the highest accolade you can hope for.

MIG is one of 17 registered training organisations in the country that have that gold star of RTO Select. We’ve been RTO Select for the past seven years since its inception and we really proudly display this accreditation in all our digital media and even on the glasses you come into the college. The AHC and RTO Select are closely aligned to what we value the most which is, to grow an industry with that has given us so much. But most importantly, it’s about enjoying the journey as well.

As we say to all our students each day, Be Creative, Have Fun, and Dare To Be Different.