What's the Buzz: First Barber Apprentice Earns Certification

Edward Masters, the state’s first barber apprentice, graduated and earned his certification.

Eighteen months and 2,000 on-the-job hours later, the first ever barber apprentice in Arizona obtained his license.

The former apprentice and now-licensed barber, Edward Masters, joined Barber Intelligence’s apprenticeship program in September 2018, shortly after Senate Bill 1399 was passed and enacted. The bill allows people to receive credentials for barber certification through the Department of Economic Security (DES) Apprenticeship Program, rather than having to pay thousands of dollars through an institute.

Masters was originally an assistant manager in a kitchen working 10- to 12-hour days and was exhausted from the work. After consulting his wife, who is a cosmetologist, he decided to try his hand at barbering.

“I set off not knowing what I wanted to do, did some soul searching and ended up wanting to try barber school,” Masters said.

While in barber school, he met Lana Cantrell, owner and operator of Barber Intelligence. Cantrell had been in contact with DES since 2015 in regard to starting an apprenticeship, and once the senate bill passed, she wasted no time in creating the first registered barber apprenticeship program in the state.

Edward Masters and Lana Cantrell inside Barber Intelligence at Fiesta Mall in Mesa

“I’ve been giving back to every outreach program I can possibly go to,” Cantrell said. “My inspiration for the apprenticeship program was that, for [many people] that I gave a free haircut through outreach, they wanted to become barbers themselves. So, I wanted to create a program where they could do that, get paid and get into this profession.”

Masters was appreciative of the type of outreach Cantrell did within the community, and he became excited and curious about the idea of an apprenticeship.

“Ms. Lana told me about the program and said that it had never been done before, that I’d be the first [barber apprentice in the state]. I had just fallen in love with learning how to cut hair and [I was] excited about the opportunity to make history and be the first to do something,” Masters said.

Masters decided to join Cantrell at Barber Intelligence and start his apprenticeship. By becoming an apprentice, he earned as he learned--and paid nothing to participate in the program.

Willie Higgins, the DES State Apprenticeship Program lead who worked with Cantrell to register Barber Intelligence as an apprenticeship, is thrilled by the certification of Masters. He remembers those honest conversations with Cantrell that date back to 2015, conversations about the far-fetched possibility of one day opening a registered apprenticeship, and graduating the very first barber apprentice in Arizona.

Lana Cantrell, Edward Masters and Barber Intelligence are pioneers for Arizona barber apprenticeship programs, as there are now more than 60 in Arizona.

“This is a good way for you to get a career and to have the credentials to back it up,” Higgins said. “Your documents carry with you (to different states), and you can start at top-level salaries--that’s proven to be the case.”

For more information about the Arizona Apprenticeship Program, please visit www.AZApprenticeship.com.

By Ben Flores