DYW - Orkney
  • Home
  • Young People
    • Careers in... >
      • Aquaculture
      • Construction
      • Early Years & Childcare
      • Energy
      • Food & Drink Production
      • Health & Social Care
      • Land-based
      • Retail
      • Tourism & Hospitality
    • My Options >
      • Apprenticeships
      • College
      • University
      • Employment
      • Planning for the Future >
        • Making Decisions
        • Your Options
        • Finding and Getting a Job
      • Your Next Steps
    • Get Hired >
      • The CV
      • The Job Application
      • The Job Interview
    • Stand out from the crowd >
      • 10 Ways to get Experience
      • Make the Most of Your Work Experience
      • Get Creative
    • Work Placements
    • Employment Rights
  • Employers
    • Get Involved
    • Activity Planner
    • Employer Testimonials
    • Ways to Engage
    • Apprenticeships
    • Hire a young person
    • Young Person's Guarantee
    • Funding and Support
  • Education
    • Marketplace for Education
  • Parents
    • Discovering their career options
    • Choosing their next steps
    • Getting their first job
    • Unlocking their potential
  • Latest News
    • #NoWrongPath
    • Orkney Careers Fair 2024
  • Work Placements

latest news

Sector Spotlight - Keri Brandish

25/7/2019

 
Picture
In the next post in our Sector Spotlight on Health and Beauty, we hear from Keri Brandish who is a self-employed Hairdresser at The Peedie Salon, and Lecturer in Hairdressing (Course Lead) at Orkney College UHI.
 
Keri discovered a love for hairdressing while undertaking a Skills for Work course while still at school.  At 16, she secured a job with a salon where she worked while also undertaking training south through block release.  Throughout her career, Keri has undertaken different training and qualifications, developed her skills and taken on new challenges, which led her to becoming a Lecturer at Orkney College, which she now does alongside her hairdressing.
 
Here, Keri tells her a bit about both of her roles.

Picture
Can you describe a typical day in your jobs as a Hairdresser and a Lecturer? 

A typical day as a Hairdressing Lecturer starts with an hour or so prep work, usually making up quizzes to help prepare the students for upcoming assessments.  I also mark any work that is complete and make sure everything is up-to-date.  When the students come in, I do the attendance.

I have a lesson plan that I have made for the year and use that as daily guidance.  The students will work on anything from shampooing to colours, cuts and everything in between.  They start on mannequin head and more on to people once competent.  There is also theory work as well.
 
At the end of the day all the students will tidy the salon, making sure everything is back in order and we will tally up the taking for the day and lock the salon.
 
A typical day in the salon is very different.  From the moment I walk in to the salon I am working.  Dealing with a variety of different clients who have booked in, many I have done their hair for 9+ years on and off as I moved away for three years.
 
In a day I can have a variety of different clients looking for loads of different services some having a three and a half hour service (usually a full head highlights and toned after with a shadow root, ombre or balayage colour or a global bleach) and others getting a cut and blow dry which usually takes 30 minutes to an hour.  If I have a colour that is developing sometimes I will do another colour in between to keep myself busy.
 
At the end of the day we make sure that everything is clean and tidy, the till has been done and the salon is all locked up ready for the next day.
 
How did you end up in your current roles?
 
My journey has been a small rollercoaster.
 
When I was 15, I did Skills for Work Hairdressing in S4, and realised this was something I was good at and wanted to pursue.  I was living in Shetland at the time and after school applied for hairdressing jobs.  At that time to get a placement in a salon you had to work there for a week and prove your worth, competing against other 16-year-olds looking to go down the same career path.
 
I got a job in a salon called Sharp Image and did my training there for two years.  We went to Elmwood College in Cupar, Fife and did block release, travelling to Cupar three times a year for two weeks at a time in a small group and living in Halls of Residence across the campus.  We were paid £50 a week.
 
After I finished my NVQ 2 in Hairdressing - which took two years when I did it - I decided I was going to move to Glasgow.  Long story short, I didn’t like it.  I worked in a barber and three months later I moved back home and went back to Sharp Image and Elmwood College and completed my NVQ 3 Hairdressing, which took one year.
 
Once I qualified, I stayed in the salon working until December 2010 and then moved home to Kirkwall, where I got a job at Salon 7 and became a self-employed Hairdresser, which can be quite scary at 19 as you have to be really careful about money.
 
At this time, I also worked in Fusion and the Torvhaug in the evenings and some mornings in the Albert Hotel to try and get enough money to live.  A self-employed hairdresser doesn’t get paid unless they are working, so being new to a salon I had very little clientele and had to work elsewhere to get a decent wage.
 
After working three years in the salon I moved to Edinburgh as I felt I needed a change and decided to study Beauty Therapy.  On my first day of Beauty Therapy I found out that you can do a HNC in Hairdressing and I knew that I would be doing that next.
 
During my first year in Edinburgh I was self-employed working in a salon, working in pubs in the evening whist studying full time as Edinburgh was not the cheapest place to live.
 
Once I completed my Beauty Therapy SVQ2, I went on to study HNC Hairdressing - which was a full time course - as well as being self-employed in the salon and doing an Assessors Award online course.
 
Finally I had finished all my qualifications and needed to find a full-time hairdressing position.
 
I went on to work in Charlie Miller’s Stafford Street Salon in Edinburgh which is one of the top 20 salons in the UK.  The owners are on the Hairdressing Wall of Fame for work that they have done.
 
Three years after moving to Edinburgh I decided my time in the city was over and I moved home to Kirkwall.
 
Once I moved home I got a job in Bladez and then got a relief job at Orkney College UHI in the April.  By the August I was on a contract at the college and was Course Lead of Hairdressing.
 
In October 2018 I left Bladez and moved to The Peddie Salon, where I am now.
 
I am now making my way through an IV award and due to start a Teaching Qualification Further Education (TQFE) in September.
 
What is the best thing about your job?
 
The best thing about my job is that it is always different, every day is different and I am always learning!
 
Whether it is in hairdressing, lecturing or something going on in the world, working with the public and meeting new people is always exciting.
 
What is the worst thing about your job?
 
Working with the public can be challenging, but rewarding.
 
What skills do you need to undertake your roles?
 
Some skills you may need would be working in a team, communication skills, time management, strong work ethic, adaptability and self-motivation.
 
When I was at Charlie Miller, the salon I worked in had 20 stylists, however they had five salons and 120 staff who you do work with and meet this would be a salon where you would need all these skills and more.
 
What qualifications do you have?

  • Level 1 Hairdressing
  • NVQ 2 Hairdressing
  • NVQ 3 Hairdressing
  • Microbead Hair Extensions
  • SVQ 2 Beauty Therapy
  • Nail Extensions
  • HNC Hairdressing
  • A1 Award
 
I am currently working towards:

  • IV Award
  • TQFE
 
Would you recommend either of your jobs to young people, if so why?
 
I would recommend working as a hairdresser as you are creative in a way that makes people happy about themselves.  You can work in a variety of different salons and you are always learning.
 
I would recommend working as a Lecturer as with this job you are giving back to Hairdressing, teaching the hairdressers of tomorrow and it is extremely rewarding seeing the student flourish.
 
Visit The Peedie Salon on:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/thepeediesalon/
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/thepeediesalon/?hl=en
 
Visit Orkney College on:
Website:  https://www.orkney.uhi.ac.uk/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/OrkneyCollegeUHI/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/OrkneyCollege


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018

    Categories

    All
    A Job For Everybody
    Apprenticeship
    Aquaculture
    Blog
    Business And Administration
    Careers Takeover
    Construction
    COVID-19
    DYW Orkney Board
    Education
    Employment
    Energy
    Engineering
    Exams
    Financial Services
    Fisheries
    Food And Drink
    Foundation Apprenticeships
    Graduate Apprenticeships
    Health And Beauty
    Healthcare
    Hospitality
    Internship
    IT
    Jobs Of The Week
    Key Worker Campaign
    Kirkwall Grammar School
    Land Based
    Leisure And Sport
    Modern Apprentice
    Modern Apprenticeships
    Newsletter
    No Wrong Path
    Oil And Gas
    Orkney Careers Fair
    Orkney College UHI
    Project Manager
    Sanday Junior High
    Scottish Apprenticeship Week
    Sector Spotlight
    Skills Development Scotland
    Social Care
    STEM
    Stromness Academy
    Stronsay Junior High
    Third Sector
    Tourism
    UHI Orkney
    Volunteering
    Westray Junior High
    Young Enterprise
    Young People Are Great Campaign

    RSS Feed

GET IN TOUCH   |   ABOUT US   |   CONTACT US
TERMS & CONDITIONS   |   WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY   |   CRM PRIVACY POLICY   |   DATA PROTECTION   |   COOKIE POLICY   |   ACCESSIBILITY
Proudly powered by Weebly
© 2019 Developing the Young Workforce
  • Home
  • Young People
    • Careers in... >
      • Aquaculture
      • Construction
      • Early Years & Childcare
      • Energy
      • Food & Drink Production
      • Health & Social Care
      • Land-based
      • Retail
      • Tourism & Hospitality
    • My Options >
      • Apprenticeships
      • College
      • University
      • Employment
      • Planning for the Future >
        • Making Decisions
        • Your Options
        • Finding and Getting a Job
      • Your Next Steps
    • Get Hired >
      • The CV
      • The Job Application
      • The Job Interview
    • Stand out from the crowd >
      • 10 Ways to get Experience
      • Make the Most of Your Work Experience
      • Get Creative
    • Work Placements
    • Employment Rights
  • Employers
    • Get Involved
    • Activity Planner
    • Employer Testimonials
    • Ways to Engage
    • Apprenticeships
    • Hire a young person
    • Young Person's Guarantee
    • Funding and Support
  • Education
    • Marketplace for Education
  • Parents
    • Discovering their career options
    • Choosing their next steps
    • Getting their first job
    • Unlocking their potential
  • Latest News
    • #NoWrongPath
    • Orkney Careers Fair 2024
  • Work Placements