DALLAS — Artificial intelligence may be changing the job market, but students at Skyline High School in Dallas are learning a trade that relies on both technical skills and human connection: cutting hair.
“People want to interact with you. They want you to interact with them,” Manzell Robertson said.
Robertson has been a barber for 35 years. He teaches students that barbering involves more than learning how to cut hair.
“As a barber, you wear many, many, many hats. So, you got to be a sports analyst. You got to be a philosopher, philanthropist, counselor, you name it,” said Robertson.
For student Alexa Sandoval, her interest in barbering started when she was young.
“I’ve always wanted to cut hair since I was younger. I liked cutting my dolls’ hair and stuff,” she said.
Robertson said the most important lessons may be about how students interact with their clients. He said learning how to connect with people is something a machine cannot replicate.
“Before I sit them down in a chair, I get to know a little bit about their life, what they do, or their names,” said Sandoval.
That human connection comes as technology continues to reshape the job market. A September 2026 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found job postings declined about 8% by the first quarter of 2025 for occupations with more tasks that could be automated by generative AI, relative to less-exposed occupations.
For students like Ricky Ayala, that raises a question about which skills technology can replace.
“No matter how advanced it would get, I don’t think it would replace human skills,” Ayala said.
Barbering, students say, requires more than technical ability. It requires trust — and a real conversation.
“I don’t think, ever, AI will be able to interact the way you interact as a barber with your client or cosmetologist with your client,” said Robertson.
Ayala said building that connection is not always easy.
“Some clients are really hard to speak to, you know. But you have to try your hardest to open the shell,” said Ayala.
For Sandoval, that human connection is part of the job she does not want to lose.
“You just need that human connection to talk to people, to know them. I know a robot can’t do that,” said Sandoval.
The future of work may be changing, but these students are hoping there will always be a place for the person behind the chair — one client at a time.