Apprentice Vanessa Graziano
Case Study: Vanessa Graziano, 20
After working in a hairdressing salon as a Saturday girl, Vanessa quickly realised she wanted a more hands-on route to her career.
Read how her hairdressing apprenticeship with Milton Keynes College has helped her get the practice she needs to pursue a job she loves while gaining valuable qualifications.
Vanessa’s Story
“I finished school when the COVID-19 lockdowns happened, and as a result, I didn’t complete my GCSEs. This meant I didn’t have an English or Maths GCSE, which I feared may limit my options. I began studying a Level 1 Hairdressing Course at Bedford College and, at the same time, started a job as a Saturday girl at a local salon, Aloha Beautiful Hair.
My boss asked me if I wanted to do an apprenticeship with them, and I quickly agreed as I loved working there and knew it was what I wanted to do as a career. However, a week before my apprenticeship started, the college rang my boss and said I was better off doing a full-time course instead. I knew this wouldn’t be right for me. You need a lot of experience to become a good hairdresser and seeing clients only one day a week while doing a full-time hair course wouldn’t be the same.
Luckily, my boss was in contact with an old teacher, who helped me set up an interview with MK College who then took me on. I was also able to resit my English and Maths GCSEs, and the support from the college was great. I passed English the second time I did it, but Maths took me about five times to pass. After two years of my apprenticeship, I had finished all my hairdressing assessments and just had Maths to pass, which I thankfully managed to do last April. I am now a permanent full-time hairdresser, and I’m enjoying it a lot. It’s a really nice place as it’s a small salon with a small team, and we just get on well.
I was so pleased to be able to do my apprenticeship at MK College. They are the best college ever. They’ve been so helpful and supportive, and I know an apprenticeship was the right route for me. You need a lot of practice in a career like hairdressing, and when I was doing the Level 1 course full-time, I only saw clients once a week. I worked on a dummy head the rest of the time, and it’s just not the same. This way, I got lots of practice and got to experience both the world of work and college.”
Vanessa’s advice to anyone considering apprenticeships:
“If you’re not sure what you want to do, apprenticeships are a great way to work out what you want in life. When I kept failing my maths, there was a point I nearly gave up. Just be patient, believe in yourself, and keep going!”
Interested in studying an Apprenticeship like Vanessa? Explore our available apprenticeships here to learn more about your options and how you can get involved.