Joseph Davies Barbering was established in 2020 as a family-run barbershop. Based in the Leicestershire village of Kibworth Harcourt, it was seen as an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive, since their business opened ‘just coming out of lockdown’.

“I felt like I’d been in the industry working for people for long enough: I wanted to try and take that step to do something on my own’ says Joe, who started as an apprentice himself. ‘At school I wasn’t necessarily academic; I was always more creative.”

Their current apprentice Jake started his Level 2 Barbering apprenticeship after leaving a business course at Leicester College during the pandemic. With the help of Heart of England Training, he was taken on at Joseph Davies, as they were looking to employ an apprentice since the beginning. “Apprenticeships for us are going to be vital for our business in the long-run…people move on or they want to start their own business. An Apprentice is someone you can have from the ground up and it’s amazing. You can teach them the way you want to teach them, essentially giving them the tools they need to learn”.

Jake feels like he has developed well, having been busy with clients and being able to make progress during his training. “I’m really happy with where I am right now. I was always interested in barbering, so I thought there’s no better time to go for it and get the experience”.

“The training from Joe’s really helped,” Jake added. “Being able to welcome clients is important, so you’re able to get past the scary stage and get right into it”.

As a new employer in the industry, Joe has built a good relationship with Heart of England Training, commenting that the apprenticeship process was made smooth and simple with the support of his Apprenticeship Account Manager, Emma. “We corresponded over email, over the phone, face-to-face and they made the whole process really easy, even now having regular updates tracking Jake’s progress. It makes for a nice relationship and it’s great because once he’s qualified, we’d love to take another apprentice on. So, we know with Heart of England Training we can just keep that ball rolling”

You can find out more about the Apprenticeship journey of Joseph Davies Barbering with our video – click here