Hairdressing Modern Apprentice (MA) Olivia Wright is aiming to shine bright at the L’Oréal Colour Trophy Star Awards semi-final taking place in Glasgow at the end of March.
Olivia (18) from Falkirk – who works at Chaplins in Hallglen - has secured one of only five places in the Scottish semi-final of the awards at the SEC on 31 March, for creating a new image a photo of which was posted on the styling giant’s website recently. She now hopes this will lead to a UK national final in June.
She said: “I had to create a different type of technique and an entirely new image never seen before. I used loads of different colours and I was very happy with the result. I have had great help from my bosses Rhona and Alan, all my colleagues and the model on the day, who have all been very supportive.
“I was over the moon to be selected for the Scottish semi-final and I couldn’t believe it when I found out. To be honest I didn’t want to check the website, but I screamed with delight when I saw my image.
“Now I am really looking forward to the competition in Glasgow. I will be interviewed by the judges on the day and the whole creation will be 20% fashion, 40% me and 40% the model, so I can’t wait. It will be so fun, and as I am very competitive, I just want to go on and win it now.”
Olivia speaks very highly of the MA programme at Forth Valley College – who send assessors to monitor her in the workplace - and added: “I really enjoy training to become a qualified hairdresser through the MA programme and colour is my favourite thing to do. It is brilliant working at Chaplins, everyone is great. I would thoroughly recommend a modern apprenticeship to anyone.”
Rhona Fish, who owns Chaplins, said: “Olivia is a real asset to us here at Chaplins. I believe that in all of my 30 years in hairdressing I think she is the one that could all the way to the top. I have never seen someone who is shown a technique once and can then replicate it straight away. She is also great with the public too.
“We are delighted with the standards of our hairdressers here at Chaplins and the college have been great in assessing our two Modern Apprentices. We have had apprentices in competitions before, but if Olivia wins this one she will win two years of training with L’Oréal which would be great for her and for us.”
Tracey Boyle, FVC Business Development Partner, who works closely with Chaplins and FVC Workplace Assessor Nicola Cowan who helps to asses Olivia in the workplace, said: “This is an amazing achievement for Olivia. We are absolutely delighted and so proud to hear that she has made it through to the semi-finals of such a prestigious competition.
“It has been fantastic to see Olivia grow and develop in her hairdressing where she has recently progressed to her Level 3 Modern Apprenticeship. The college have worked with Chaplins for a number of years, and they have produced some very talented hairdressers through the Modern Apprenticeship Programme. We look forward to continuing the MA partnership with them into the future. Good luck to Olivia!"
