Abu Dhabi: Residents will soon be assured of safer, more hygienic and professional services at salons and beauty parlours in the emirate of Abu Dhabi following the launch of a new licensing scheme for the sector.
Within the next five years, all workers must be trained under the new scheme, which has been launched by the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council, the emirate’s quality assurance regulator.
“The [licensing] programme will ensure consumer safety coupled with better customer service,” Mohammad Helal Al Beloushi, director of marketing and communications at the Council.
Salon and parlour workers will be trained in mandatory health and safety requirements as well as parlour skills. They will then be assessed through a theoretical and practical test. Workers who pass the test will receive a certificate of conformity and a licence to practise in the emirate.
The training will take eight hours, and will apply to all male and female workers, the QCC confirmed to Gulf News.
Al Beloushi said that certified workers will be adept at ensuring personal cleanliness and hygiene. They will be aware of the different types of disease-causing pathogens that could be transmitted under sub-standard working practices, and will know how to prevent their transmission. They will also be skilled at cleaning, disinfecting and storing equipment and fabrics that are used. Another module of the training will teach workers about correct waste disposal methods.
“In addition, workers will be trained on procedures to carry out an evacuation in case of an emergency,” Al Beloushi said.
As per the mandate, all salon workers must be trained within the next five years, and at least 20 per cent of the staff at each salon or parlour must be certified in the initial phase. Establishments can now apply at the Council to have staff attend the assessment at one of the registered institutes.
The QCC said the cost of the training will depend on the rates set by various authorised training centres, but an estimate could not be immediately provided.
Khalifa Mohammad Al Rumaithi, director of public health at the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, said the licensing scheme would improve the services provided by the sector.
The municipality inspects all salons and beauty centres to ensure that they comply with health and safety standards. In the past, the municipality itself operated a basic training programme for salon and parlour workers, but this did not include certain modules of the new scheme, and did not furnish trainees with a licence.
The official added that establishments which fail to comply with the certification requirements will be penalised after the lapse of the five-year period.
