My advice on… Apprenticeships

Robert Eaton, art director at Russell Eaton Hair, shares how his team finds, manages, and keeps hold of its apprentices, with the long game in mind. His perspective, like others in the industry, is crucial to ensuring we entice and retain the next generation of talented stylists.

What are the biggest challenges in finding apprentices right now?
More work needs to be done to entice people into our industry; employers need to understand what young people want from their careers, parents need to take the industry more seriously and we also need to change the perception that an apprenticeship means a lot of work young people won’t find attractive, like cleaning and sweeping up. We need to make apprenticeships more exciting for the individual joining and to outline what an apprentice can expect throughout their training, but also, what we expect of them. It all needs to be clear from the start. We have a good relationship with our local college, and they know the kind of apprentice we’re looking for. It’s important to have those conversations with your training providers.

What can we do better, to ensure apprentices don’t leave or give up?
They must remain enthusiastic and excited about the process. Three years is a long time for a young person, but for those who are enthusiastic, there should be a commitment from the salon owner to set that young person on the right path and provide a solid foundation to their education and future career – including both practical and soft skills. Having regular chats is key; listen to what they have to say, and be aware of changes in outlook. Then, they will feel they are progressing all the time. A standard three-year apprenticeship may get someone ready for the salon floor, but it may take another year or two before an apprentice builds a healthy client base. And, given young people want things to happen quickly, that means it’s even more important to get the foundations right and to manage their expectations. This is the best way to train great stylists with fantastic earning potential.

Is there a particular area of development, which you feel requires extra focus?
There’s been a shift recently, where long hair has dominated trends in salon work, so some of our apprentices struggle to get enough experience in short haircutting. We need to make sure we’re supporting our apprentices with short hair education, and encourage them to be flexible and open to different kinds of work. But we also need to identify those who want to become specialists, and ensure they know what that means for them and their earning potential.

When it comes to managing individuals, what are your top dos and don’ts?
Understand what they want to get out of their career and get to know them as a person and as a personality in the salon. Identify key strengths, and work on building their confidence and ability in those areas, supporting that with courses and other education to give them motivation – inspired stylists are profitable stylists. A big don’t for me is not listening, and not grasping what an apprentice wants from their career. You’ve got to be open and encourage openness; sometimes, an apprentice might not feel your salon is the right fit for them, and you’ve got to accept that. Sometimes, it’s about not overloading individuals with too much, too quickly.

How do you manage apprentices during your busiest days?
We have two salon hosts (one in each of our two salons), responsible for looking after customer service and our 10 apprentices. They have a lot of industry experience, with fully rounded customer service skills, and our younger apprentices learn a lot from them.

What qualities and characteristics do you look for in an apprentice?
It’s all about personality and the aura that somebody gives out. School grades and performance are important, but I look for commitment and a spark that someone really wants to be here, to be part of what we’re doing. If we have big personalities in the salon, we might not want too many; we don’t want people to clash. We want to create a mix of different personalities to suit different kinds of clients. I would watch out for a lack of commitment and poor timekeeping. If someone is too focused on their own profile, doing things too quickly, or not working as part of a team, these can all be warning signs, too.

What advantages can older apprentices bring to the table?
I love the mix of older and younger apprentices; those with more life experience alongside the enthusiasm of someone new to the industry is great. Imbalance may not work. But really, it’s about getting the right person rather than how old they are. However, getting older apprentices to be salon ready and profitable when their wages are higher can be tough. Then again, they have developed life skills and are often more determined to get training and working faster.

How do you ensure apprentices stay with your salon after they qualify?
It can be difficult when you have quite a few apprentices training at once. Having apprentices of different age groups, and staggering apprenticeships, can help. We try our best to be as committed to them as they have been to us by offering them employment at the end. Then we know them well, their personality, and what they’re like.

How do you balance getting an apprentice work-ready, as quickly as possible, and ensuring they are as skilled as possible?
You’ve got to identify first what the individual is good at, whether it’s balayage, curl, or blonde, and focus on developing those skills to the point where they are able to look after clients, and make money for the salon (and themselves). When an apprentice qualifies, that’s the time for the salon to step in and keep them motivated, as sometimes that’s when things can get frustrating for them (if, for example, they are not as busy as they expected to be). You must make sure they understand your wage model, and that if they want to earn more, they must build their client base and work on their social media profile, too. Upskilling never stops – you could have the most experienced stylist, but if they don’t keep abreast of trends and developments, younger stylists can take over.

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