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My name’s Sarah Kemp. I work here at Headroom Hair.
I started TVET training while I was in school
and then commenced to start
my four-year apprenticeship here at Headroom.
I had a passion for hairdressing at a young age.
My mum was often...
I was begging her if I could plait her hair,
and then often it would be the Barbie dolls next.
At school, I was always getting in trouble
for cutting friends’ split ends in class,
and I actually converted, in Year 10,
one of the study periods room into a hair salon.
So I knew that that’s what I wanted to do,
so I thought I’ll stay on to Year 11
and just do a bit of research in a few different pathways
that I could go about acquiring an apprenticeship.
We all start off young and leaving school
and not quite knowing our place in the world,
and by the end of an apprenticeship
you certainly know where you belong in the salon.
The first-year apprentice runs the salon.
You know, without a first-year apprentice, people can’t...
..senior stylists can’t make money, they can’t do their job
because it’s hairdressing – it’s not a solo thing, it’s a team.
It’s really important to have a good team behind you
’cause you end up working really well together.
I mean, hairdressing as a trade is very social.
You get to chat to people, make people feel nice.
You know more about them
than some of your own family members, which is sad,
but people tell me things
that they probably haven’t even told their best friend, so...
Through working here at Headroom and doing an apprenticeship,
I’ve been able to have the opportunity
of telling my story about an apprenticeship
through being awarded Apprentice of the Year for the North Coast region.
Coming from a town like Ballina,
you think that, you know, you just have your regular clients
and you’re not sure that anyone else is noticing.
But they do, so all your hard work definitely pays off with doing a trade.
To be nominated was definitely rewarding
and, yeah, definitely a prize for all the hard work
that I put in throughout my apprenticeship.
I’ve got lots of friends that are still wondering
what they’re going to do with their lives
and, yeah, I’ve been really blessed
with knowing what I wanted to do from a young age.
It is hard work but it’s well worth it.
Are you happy?