A barber engineer whose work mimics Germany apprentice system
Xn Iraki
By
XN Iraki
| Jun 17, 2026
A recent visit to Jeja Fashions along Kiambu Road for a haircut gave me more than I bargained for.
I met Isaac Njuguna in the barbershop (kinyozi). He was not shaving or being shaved, but servicing shaving machines. He could open it, clean it, oil it and sharpen it for between Sh150 and 500, depending on the location of the kinyozi.
He practices real market segmentation.
Talk of job diversification. Njuguna has been shaving since 2001, which he learned through an apprenticeship. In 2018, he diversified into “barber engineering.” This encounter left me thinking. We just get our haircuts done, then go home. We rarely think about shaving technology.
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Add hair salons. Who repairs all these machines? We know mechanics for our cars. What of equivalence in barbershops?
All barbershop and salon machines break down and are subject to repair. That is the niche this young man identified. He denied he was young and attributed his youthful look to keeping off alcohol.
Following technology can be profitable. Think of pioneers in electric vehicles or computer repairers. Think of medical engineering, who fixes and repairs all the medical equipment - from X-rays to MRIs?
Who designs, manufactures and fixes dental equipment? Microscopes? Surgical equipments?
I asked Njuguna if he dreams of manufacturing shaving machines branded “Njuguna” or “Wamaru.” He said it’s hard. But that should be his dream. Why not shift upstream? Who makes more money, a car manufacturer or a mechanic? Moving upstream should be at the heart of the Competence-Based Education.
The shift to servicing shaving machines from shaving heads shows the advantage of sticking to knitting, staying in an industry and mastering it.
Lots of Asian businessmen do that, at times across generations. That is also common in Germany, where family-owned businesses do so well.
Njuguna’s work mimics Germany apprentice system. We can’t learn everything in school, and some people are not made for the school system.
That is why a certificate at junior high school should allow those who want to exit the school to do so. We should be considerate of those who dislike books in good faith. The number of high school graduates opting for Technical and Vocational Education and Training shows things are changing.
But apprenticeships have gained little traction. Yet if we compare the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education grades, A and B with C and D, you will see a huge market for apprenticeship. AI will not teach us everything. Did you learn something through an apprenticeship? Talk to us.