Northhampton News

The House Professional Licensure Committee has approved legislation proposed by Representative Zach Mako to tackle the shortage of barber instructors in Pennsylvania. The bill, known as House Bill 327, aims to address the challenges faced by barber shops and hair salons, which were significantly impacted by the pandemic.

Representative Mako stated, "This is the fourth legislative session that I have introduced a bill on this topic. Barber shops and hair salons were hit hard by the pandemic. Add to this that there continues to be a shortage of barber-teachers in the Commonwealth, and we have a recipe for an issue in the future. Without barber-teachers, barber schools will be forced to close thus reducing the opportunities for training. We need to make this change now, so that finding a barber in the future doesn’t become difficult."

House Bill 327 proposes several changes: lowering the eligible age for taking the barber-teacher examination from 23 to 18 years; reducing required training hours from 1,250 to 500; allowing individuals with both cosmetology and barber licenses to obtain a barber-teacher license upon completing necessary training and exams; and permitting licensed out-of-state barber-teachers with similar requirements as Pennsylvania's to receive licensure through examination.

The bill will now proceed to the full House for further consideration.

The 183rd House District represented by Mako includes parts of Lehigh County such as Lowhill and North Whitehall townships and Slatington Borough, along with areas in Northampton County including Allen, East Allen, Lehigh, Moore (part) townships, Bath, North Catasauqua, Northampton, and Walnutport boroughs.