THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Terry Gouard at the Danville Area Community College Barber School inside the Village Mall, 2917 N. Vermilion Street, Danville.
DANVILLE — Danville Area Community College Barber School leader Terry Gouard is ready to make history.
It’s been a long time coming, and Gouard is excited to welcome nine full-time students to their first class today at the school’s new home in the Village Mall.
DACC’s new barbering program is launching with the spring semester. It offers two options: a two-semester certificate or a four-semester associate degree. Classes run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the mall location.
Gouard, a licensed instructor and experienced barber shop owner, is leading the program. He said it will take students about nine months, or 1,500 hours, to complete it.
Gouard said up to 15 students can be accepted in the first group, but for some, a full-time class schedule doesn’t work out. The program is only offering full-time classes at the moment. Students in the program are eligible for financial aid, and it has no prerequisites.
The first class comprises five women and four men, which surprised Gouard.
“That’s pretty cool. I’m excited,” he said.
The Village Mall location features a classroom for instruction in the former GNC store, and in the former nail salon next door, a 15-station barber clinic where students can earn salon hours by working on real clients. They will start on mannequin heads to gain hands-on experience. The classroom is equipped with up-to-date resources and technology to enhance learning.
Gouard said Laura Hensgen, DACC’s assistant vice president of operations, was a big help in decorating the site, picking out the chairs and getting items ordered. The clinic features a black-and-silver theme and has a chandelier. The mirrors at the student stations are lighted.
The space also includes four washing stations; hot-towel machines; sterilizer to clean the combs and equipment; hair dryers; Gouard’s office; a break room; and a storage area — and of course, in front, a barber pole that lights up and spins.
Gouard said students will learn the history of barbering, life skills to become a professional and how to use the tools, including clippers, shears and razors. After completing this groundwork, they will move over to the clinic, working on mannequins and then real clients.
Students will spend the first 250 hours — a little shy of two months — in the classroom before moving to the clinic.
Gouard said the clinic will offer simple haircuts for $8. As part of the course, students will walk around the mall and hand out business cards, introduce themselves and bring people in. He also plans to reach out to a lot of nursing homes, Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System, schools, after-school programs and homeless shelters for the students to get more experience. Gouard also is looking at hair shows.
“I’m just ready to get started,” he said. “It’s time to get the work done.”
While the program is new at DACC, Gouard has been an instructor for classes at Larry’s Barber College in Peoria and Peoria Barber College.
Gouard said the site at the Village Mall is “amazing.” He said it’s been a long process to get the program started at DACC due to state licensing and permitting and other needed steps. DACC officials had hoped to start it 2023.
Gouard said he presented the idea and program to now-retired DACC President Stephen Nacco at a Minority Business Owner Expo that took place right before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gouard had just graduated from Larry’s Barber College at the time.
“It was just me partnering with DACC made things a lot smoother,” he said.
According to the Illinois Career Information System, the demand for barbers is expected to rise by 7.5 percent. According to DACC, job opportunities in the industry on are the rise with more people needing hair services and many current barbers retiring.
About 70 percent of barbers are self-employed, making it a flexible and rewarding career, DACC official said. Nationwide, projected employment is 66,500, with 7,200 new job openings each year.
Gouard said being a barber “is a very lucrative career.”
“This program is perfect for a variety of students,” said Carl Bridges, DACC provost and vice president of academics and student services. “Whether you’re a recent high school graduate, someone looking for a side hustle, or someone wanting a new career or retirement job, barbering offers great opportunities.”
For more information about the program, call 217-443-8750.
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