Why i love my hairdressing apprenticeship

HJi continues its celebration of hairdressing apprenticeships with an interview with Frankie Forrester. Frankie, aged 18, is an apprentice at Satori Salon in Loughton and a student at the London Hairdressing Apprenticeship Academy in Loughton. How did you become interested in hairdressing? When I was 14 I used to help out at my aunt’s salon on Saturdays and I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the buzz of the place. I found it very interesting and thought it would offer me a good career opportunity. Why did you think it would be an interesting career? Having gained some basic work experience and finding out more about life in a salon, I really liked the fact that there are so many aspects to hairdressing. Because there are a number of different skills and specialist areas, the career paths are very varied. Why did you choose to go down the apprenticeship route? I studied at college for a while in a different subject and some of my friends were doing hairdressing courses but they weren’t getting salon experience. The apprenticeship with LHAA gave me the best of both worlds and because I was employed, I could earn and train at the same time. This is really important when you’re young as it gives you confidence and helps you understand how a business operates. Tell me how you spend your week. I am employed at Satori Hairdressing in Loughton and I work there four days a week, including our late opening day from 11-8pm. I attend the LHAA Loughton Academy every Wednesday. I’m involved in a number of different areas in the salon including shampooing and blow-drying and I also apply root tints. I love the variety and looking after clients. What have been the most interesting elements of your apprenticeship so far? I have found all the training to be interesting but in particular, I enjoyed learning about the skills of colour mixing. How important it to have a mixture of practical and theory training?  It’s absolutely critical to know why you’re doing something as well as how to do it. There’s a lot of technical knowledge needed to understand the importance of using products such as hair dye safely. Having both theory and practical training ensures you will become a better and more professional hairdresser. What advice would you offer a young person thinking of starting an apprenticeship in hairdressing? I would recommend getting some work experience to see if life in a salon is for you and if you enjoy it, go for it! An apprenticeship is definitely the best way into the industry and there are loads of prospects if you’re dedicated and hard working.