Twenty new students joined Instructor Jay Kaufmann in the classroom of the Barber Academy on January 21 for its first class. The continuing education workforce training program will prepare students to apply for and pass the licensing examination offered by the North Carolina State Board of Barber Examiners (NCBBE).
The new program is one of few barber training programs in the state offered by community colleges and the only one offered west of Shelby. Local barbershops and cosmetology salons that want to provide professional barbering services have expressed great interest in the new program.
Joining the class for the ribbon-cutting, were Dan Beal, Chair of the NC Barber Board; Randy Wilson, the WNC Barber Inspector; and Bruce Morgan, a longtime local barber who started his career in February 1963.
“You have one of the best educators here,” Beal said to the students. “Keep copious amounts of notes and know the board is here to help you.”
Kaufmann was hired as Coordinator and Lead Instructor of the Barber Academy. He is a licensed registered barber and barbering instructor in North Carolina, and formerly was the head instructor at the Hair Styling Institute in Charlotte. He also has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina.
“I’m excited to join A-B Tech and look forward to growing the Barber Academy into a premier institution for student barbers and the community,” Kaufman said. “Our mission is to prepare students to pass the NC Barber Licensing Exam and achieve a lifelong career in the barbering industry.”
The Barber Academy is located in the former massage therapy space in the Birch Building on A-B Tech’s Asheville campus. It is adjacent to the cosmetology program’s Cosmetology salon and classrooms, but the programs are not affiliated. Learn more at A-B Tech Barber Academy. See the gallery of photos from the ribbon cutting on our Facebook page.
Photo: Barber students hold the ribbon with from left, Deborah Wright, Vice President of Continuing Education and Economic & Workforce Development; Maria Spadaro, Workforce Continuing Education Associate Director; Jay Kaufmann, Lead Instructor; Roger Metcalf, A-B Tech Board Vice-Chair; Dennis King, A-B Tech President Emeritus.