A good haircut may take less than an hour. Turning that skill into a living takes considerably more.

A group of young trainees has graduated from the Legends Barber Training and Development Academy after completing three months of practical barbering and business training backed by Absa. The graduation took place on 15 September 2026.

The programme goes beyond learning how to use clippers.

Trainees worked on technical barbering skills while Absa added entrepreneurship training, covering the business knowledge needed to eventually earn independently or build a business. Legends Barber Academy's own curriculum also includes sanitation, marketing and social media alongside cutting, shaving and hair-design techniques.

A skill that can become a business

For Absa, the idea is to give participants more than one route after graduation.

Nonhlanhla Magagula from Absa Corporate Citizenship said graduates are being placed in salons, but the programme also asks whether they could eventually create businesses of their own.

That fits into a broader partnership announced in late 2025. Absa's support for the Legends Barber Academy runs from 26 November 2025 to 30 March 2027, with the programme designed to build technical ability, financial literacy and entrepreneurial readiness.

Legends Barbershop founder Sheldon Tatchell said trainees arrived without professional barbering skills and developed their abilities, discipline and confidence through the programme.

For graduate Musawenkosi Nyathi, who trained at the Pretoria CBD branch, the three months were demanding. He had learned some basic cutting skills at school but joined the academy for formal training and to improve his prospects in the industry.

The Bottom Line

A pair of clippers can be more than a trade tool when the person holding them also knows how to find customers, manage money and build a business.

These graduates leave with a practical skill they can take into a salon today, and potentially turn into businesses of their own tomorrow.