Beauty: So you want to be a hairdresser? A new scholarship can help
A great career in hairdressing begins with a foundation of excellent training, says Andrew Barton, Yorkshire-born stylist to the stars.
“I was one of the last indentured apprentices in the UK and trained in my native Yorkshire,” he said. “From the humble beginnings of a village salon where I was taught the value of good service and quality craftsmanship, these skills I learnt as an apprentice laid the foundations for an enviable career which has seen me travel the world, style celebrities to royalty, manage the creative direction of some of the world’s biggest salon groups, launch my own signature hair brands, and I still love it as much today as I did then.”
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Hide AdWould-be hairdressers must find the best training they can, he said. “This may involve travelling and long days, but you could be running your own business as a salon owner in your early twenties.”
Andrew is launching a new educational programme for trainee hairdressers next month in his home town of Barnsley, where he hopes to inspire others to follow his creative example. Andrew Barton London Education – or ABLE – is a scholarship giving students the extended qualification of an ABLE certificate alongside traditional NVQ or technical qualifications.
Andrew, creative director of the Headmasters salon group, said: “ABLE will not only lift the experience and aspirations of students but also support lecturers in their pursuit to offer quality education and develop the skill set of the hairdressers of the future. I’m delighted that the ABLE scholarship will launch first, in September, in my home town of Barnsley, at the very college where I qualified as a trainee hairdresser 30 years ago.”
The ABLE scholarship is set to roll out at institutions nationwide over the next three years with a target to become a British product of excellence and exported internationally. It uses a series of educational tools including exclusive online training and aspirational events.