As part of the development stage of the National Hairdressing Apprenticeship there have been a series of national consultation workshops taking place around the country, titled – Shaping the Future. These workshops were designed as an opportunity for hairdressing subject matter experts to come together, meet the development team, and assist in the programme development. There was an overwhelming response from both industry and education experts to attend the workshops and lend their voice to ‘shaping the future’ of their industry. Participants at the workshops worked really hard to provide valuable inputs into the modules and module content. These inputs will go forward to develop a best-in-class hairdressing apprenticeship that will be relevant and respected nationally, and also on the international stage.
The first of these workshops was held in the Charleville Park Hotel, Co Cork on June 11th. The workshop was opened by Kevin Bartley, Manager of Apprenticeship Services for Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, the lead co-ordinating provider. Wayne Partridge of Wayne Lloyd Hair and Catherine Finn of Synergy Hair Group welcomed the attendees on behalf of industry and expressed their enthusiasm and support for the hairdressing apprenticeship. The energy and passion in the room was highly visible, surpassed only by the level of talent and expertise of those in attendance.
The second workshop was held in the offices of Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) in Naas, Co Kildare, on June 18th. ETBI is the representative body of the 16 Education and Training Boards nationally. Kevin Bartley opened the workshop. James Eustace and Siobhan Magner of ETBI welcomed the attendees and thanked them for lending their expertise to the development of the apprenticeship programme. Maeve O’Healy Harte of the Hairdressing Council of Ireland, Catherine Finn of Synergy Hair Group and Gerry Hynes of the Irish Hairdressers Federation welcomed everyone and voiced their support for the need for a national hairdressing apprenticeship. The level of talent and expertise at this workshop was equally as impressive as Charleville, with very interesting, honest and valuable inputs provided.
The final workshop took place in the Landmark Hotel, Co Leitrim, on June 25th, amidst glorious sunshine. Kevin Bartley opened the workshop and welcomed the attendees and thanked them for sacrificing their day in the sunshine to assist in the development of the national apprenticeship in professional hairdressing. Maeve O’Healy Harte of the Hairdressing Council of Ireland, Deirdre McCarthy of Synergy Hair Group and Gerry Hynes of the Irish Hairdressers Federation extended an industry welcome. They once again voiced their support and spoke about how important the apprenticeship is for the future of the hairdressing industry. Deirdre gave an emotive speech about her passion and love for the industry, highlighting the amazing talent that currently exists. She spoke about how the lack of recognised qualifications can have an impact on confidence, and voiced the importance of making hairdressing an attractive career opportunity within a regulated, professional environment. The workshop proved to be a busy day which yielded very fruitful and valuable information from the impressively knowledgeable, talented and motivated subject matter experts present.
The data from all three national consultation workshops is currently being collated and will inform the new apprenticeship. Many thanks to all those who attended and gave so selflessly of their time and expertise in the name of shaping the future.
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