Training with Style Ð Get Qualified and Get a Career YouÕll Love
I’m a lucky girl. Lucky because unlike lots of people I meet I absolutely love my career. What’s not to love? Hairdressing has been good to me. I work with great creative people and enjoy a lifestyle that I couldn’t have imagined when I started as a Saturday girl all those years ago.
Back then hairdressing was seen by many people as a kind of catch-all career choice. “If all else fails, you could become a hairdresser,” they said. But it was never like that for me. I always loved the hairdressing industry and I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, might have been over-egging the fried rice when he said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” It’s a nice thought, but to be a good hairdresser does take a lot of hard work and great training.
Talking of great training, I’m proud to support the Arrocca School of Hairdressing, who are opening a brand new training facility right here in Berkhamsted. As I write, these guys are working hard to create a training centre of excellence which will look and feel more like a proper modern salon than an old-school technical college, and will deliver professional training of the highest possible standards. The educators at Arrocca School of Hairdressing will all be experienced trainers and qualified assessors. Working in partnership with the Joshua Galvin Academy and City & Guilds, they will be able to train budding hairdresser’s right up to NVQ level 4.
There’s far, far more to hairdressing than cutting and styling of course. And because there’s a lot to learn, good training needs time. It may take school leavers two years to become qualified, but once they’ve passed their NVQ, they will have a qualification that is recognised by all the top salons - from there on the sky’s the limit, believe me.
What’s more, if you’re a school leaver or in your early twenties, you may even be able to get the Government to pay for your training. Of course, as with any government funding, there are a few conditions to be met, but the training school would be able to help you with all that. For mature students and career changers who have to fund their own training, Arrocca School of Hairdressing has come up with the practical idea of offering evening and weekend courses that can be fitted in around work.
Like other top hairdressers, I am right behind the Hairdressing Council’s campaign to press the Government to make training and registration of qualified hairdressers compulsory. It’s what we need. We owe it to ourselves and our customers to set high standards and map out a clear professional career path. I think it’s one of the most exciting opportunities available today for people with the right attitude, personality, passion and determination to take control of their future. Get yourself qualified and you could be well on your way to becoming a top hairdresser too.
Trisha Buller (MIT SRSH) is the Salon Director at Cienté. For more information or to speak to one of the Cienté team about treatments and products call 01442 877273.