One salon group has revealed that every single one of its 27 franchisees/salon owners began their careers as an apprentice with the group.
East Midlands-based KH Hair Group has been delivering apprenticeships/training opportunities to young people for 78 years and, during this time, has graduated around 2,300 apprentices/trainees.
The salon group has 20 salons based across the East Midlands and 2025 marks 40 years since the franchise model was adopted following the retirement of company founder, Mr Keith Hall MBE in 1985.
Not sure what a franchise model is? Check this out.
From Apprentice to Salon Owner
Amanda Fall, Salon Director of the Group’s Leicester and Oadby salons, joined the apprenticeship scheme in 1989 aged just 16. She first bought into the Leicester franchise in 1999 and, when the Oadby salon opened in 2014, she jumped at the chance to own it. Throughout her career she has won a number of industry awards and has travelled the country carrying out master classes and representing the Group.
“A big challenge in the beginning was having to line manage the people who had trained me!” says Amanda. “I was very young, but I had fantastic support from the Academy and from head office.”
In Leicester, Amanda has now built one of the most successful salons in KH Hair’s 20-strong portfolio. “College simply does not give you the opportunities an apprenticeship has to offer,” she says. “Completing an apprenticeship means you can walk into any hairdressing job, as you will have gained interpersonal skills and client-facing experiences that are invaluable.
“As a salon owner, I have interviewed totally inexperienced 16-year-olds who have gone on to become franchisees through our apprenticeship scheme and that is extremely satisfying,” she adds.
“Some have also gone on to teach in the industry, so the opportunities are most definitely out there if you’re prepared to work hard. The support of the Academy and the Group doesn’t end at graduation either. There are on-going courses and opportunities for improvement throughout your hairdressing career.”
The Power of Hairdressing Apprenticeships
KH Hair Group’s managing director, Darren Messias, recently celebrated 35 years with the company, having himself joined the apprenticeship scheme in 1988.
He says: “We are so incredibly proud that all our franchisees have been with KH Hair from leaving school at 16 years of age. It is testament to the fact that we have always offered distinct career paths for anyone who wants the opportunities. Of course, we also recognise that being a salon owner is not for everyone, so we make sure we are able to offer alternative career paths should any of our team choose to follow them.”
KH Hair’s Loughborough salon celebrated its 40th anniversary last year and is run by joint franchisees, Cate Rowland and Sheralynne Shepherd.
Cate joined KH Hair as a young apprentice in 1982, working her way up through the hairdressing ranks to become joint director of the salon in 1996 alongside Michael McMenamin. After Michael’s retirement in 2006, the salon’s former apprentice and noticeable rising star, Sheralynne, went into partnership with Cate. At just 23, she was the Group’s youngest ever franchisee.
Cate and Sheralynne agree an apprenticeship was definitely the best way for both of them to learn the trade. “It’s given us a lot of opportunities,” explains Sheralynne. “Being in the salon and part of the Group means we’ve been able to access all areas of the industry. We’ve been incredibly lucky to have benefited from training with the industry’s finest and continue to do so. Being in the salon environment gives you the full reality of hairdressing, including the interaction with colleagues and clients which enables you to build such lovely relationships along the way.”
Cate says her career has held some exciting highlights. “I’ve been very lucky to have had fantastic experiences outside the salon too,” she says. “I have travelled the UK putting on hair shows with other creatives and had the opportunity of working at BBC’s The Clothes Show at the Birmingham NEC. However, my proudest achievement is running KH Hair Loughborough with Sheralynne and being able to train young hairdressers to an extremely high standard through our leading apprenticeship scheme.”
“We’d recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who is motivated and ready for the world of work,” adds Sheralynne. “Hairdressing is such a lovely career, and our training programme is still one of the best out there.”
KH Hair's Apprenticeship Programme
KH Hair’s Long Eaton Academy achieves incredibly high successes year-on-year and has been awarded top marks of 100 per cent by funding partners, Central Training Group - the only Academy to achieve this.
Its state-of-the-art facilities include a working salon where trainees can run their own column and train in all skills up to Level 3 Diploma for Hair Professionals. In their third year, apprentices are able to take part in a micro business course on which they are taken through the whole journey of salon business life.
This Young Enterprise Group teaches graduate stylists about how a salon is operated and managed and the financial considerations of running a business.
It's seriously inspiring to see a Salon Group funnel so much effort into training. Congratulations to KH Hair team.
