Reaching out to potential apprentices

Teachers were once renowned for labelling hairdressing a dead-end job, a route to channel troublesome youngsters out of their school and off their hands. But change is in the air, at least in some areas. Recently, Ronnie Marshall, owner of Byron Hairdressing in Kirkcaldy, was invited to join an Employability Fayre at local Kirkcaldy High School, suggesting this school, at least, recognises hairdressing as a career rather than a dead-end job. But securing that invitation has taken years of re-educating the teaching profession. ‘Over the past decade we have been pushing at the doors of all the local schools to make ourselves and the industry better known, to gain a little bit of credibility for hairdressing,’ says Ronnie. ‘It’s about opening a dialogue so we can show them hairdressing is a promising occupation with great prospects, not a dumping ground for kids with challenging behaviour. Not every school is listening, but we’ve now got contacts in a few where we’ve been able to show the amazing, creative opportunities we have made for young people over the past couple of decades. He adds:’ Our salon tutor started as a Saturday girl and is now an A1 assessor and a L’Oréal Colour Master, while another member of our team has gone on to join Percy Reed in London, where he is involved in session work. I just wish all teachers would recognise it.’ And while some schools don’t even acknowledge Ronnie and his team’s repeated attempts to make contact, the situation has improved. ‘We were invited to take part in Kirkcaldy’s first ever Employability Fayre,’ adds Ronnie. ‘And we were ready.’ Increasingly, schools are organising Employability or Jobs Fayres, bringing together a diverse group of employers to inform young people of the huge variety of careers available to them. Byron shared the room with representatives of National Rail, Bank of Scotland, all the Scottish universities, Fife Council, EDF Energy and huge engineering firm Babcock, as well as a variety of retailers from Kirkcaldy. More than 500 children from the senior school attended. For Byron, it was a positive experience, giving Ronnie not just the opportunity to reach out to many of the young people who visited his stand, but also to talk to the teachers in person. He reckons his success was down to prepping for the day. ‘I went personally to show the school how important we considered this link but I also took along one of our assistants, Megan Paterson, so the pupils had a younger person to relate to,’ he explains. ‘It is all part of our ongoing strategy to engage with schools more positively, and that includes meeting with teachers and parents, offering opportunities to pupils hopeful of becoming stylists and giving demonstrations of skills at various events, including fundraisers.’ In the run-up to the event, Ronnie had branded leaflets printed detailing the many and varied career paths and options open to Byron employees. He took these, along with application forms and some copies of Hairdressers Journal, to give those interested an insight into the craft. He also took a dolly head with tools so Megan could demonstrate various options for dressing hair, including braiding, and give the young people an opportunity to try for themselves. The stand was mobbed for most of the day, mostly by young girls, and by the end there were no application forms left. ‘It was a long day, and a day lost in the salon for Megan and myself, but it was worth it. It’s the only way we can breakdown the prejudice some have towards the industry,’ says Ronnie. ‘The battle isn’t over. We need to keep plugging away at teachers and parents every opportunity we get.’