This article is republished with the permission of Mocha Group

Reshaping how training is delivered.

After 18 months helping deliver a new apprenticeship training model across New Zealand, Sara Allsop believes it's time to rethink how we develop future hairdressers. In this article, she examines the importance of foundational skills, the challenges of modern training, and why connecting classic techniques to contemporary fashion may hold the key to the industry's future.

For more than two decades, the New Zealand and most probably the global hairdressing industry, has evolved at pace, driven by trends, technology, and the growing demand for immediate, client-ready results. But in that evolution, there's been a quiet shift in how we train our next generation. Somewhere along the way, foundational skills, the very backbone of our craft, have, in some\cases, become diluted.

This isn't about nostalgia or holding onto outdated techniques. It's about recognising that while certain services may no longer dominate salon menus, the skills behind them remain critical. Take perming, for example. While it may not be as sought after as it once was, the act of winding hair around a perm rod teaches dexterity, tension control, sectioning, and an understanding of hair structure and chemical transformation. These are not "old" skills, they are essential ones.

They underpin everything from modern texture work to precision styling. Over time, commercial pressures have understandably shaped how apprentices are trained. Salon owners need productivity, and apprentices are often fast-tracked onto the salon floor, focusing on high-demand services like foiling and colouring. While this builds confidence and contributes to business success, it can also mean that key foundation skills and deeper technical understanding are missed or rushed. The result is a generation of emerging stylists who are capable, but not always fully equipped with the versatility and control that comes from mastering the basics.

Having spent the past 18 months delivering a new format of apprenticeship training with HITO across New Zealand, I've had the unique opportunity to step back and look at this landscape from a national perspective. What became immediately clear is that consistency has been one of our greatest challenges. The experience and education an apprentice receives can vary significantly depending on where they are based, who is training them, and what the priorities of that salon may be.

When the opportunity arose to be part of reshaping how training is delivered, I jumped at it. The goal was simple but ambitious: to create a framework that delivers consistent, high-quality education from one end of the country to the other, while still allowing room for creativity, individuality, and the realities of salon life.

Working alongside industry leaders like Jock Robson and Mana Dave, we've developed a training approach that deliberately reconnects apprentices with foundational skills, while making them relevant, inspiring, and undeniably modern. At the heart of this approach is the belief that foundation and fashion are not separate entities, they are intrinsically linked. Techniques such as finger waving, blow-drying, and directional setting are not taught as historical exercises, but as tools for creating contemporary looks inspired by runway and editorial fashion.

When apprentices see how these skills translate into the kind of imagery they admire, whether from fashion magazines or global runways, their perception shifts. Finger waving is no longer associated with dated styles, but with sleek, sculptural finishes seen in high-fashion editorials. Setting becomes a way to build shape, movement, and longevity into a look. Blow-drying transforms from a routine task into an exercise in control, balance, and design.

This shift in perspective is powerful. It allows apprentices, many of whom are at the very beginning of their creative journeys, to see that hairdressing is not just about executing services, but about crafting looks. It opens their eyes to the broader world of fashion, makeup, and image-making, and how these disciplines intersect.

In our workshops, conversations go beyond technique. We talk about proportion, silhouette, and how a hairstyle complements a face, an outfit, or a concept. We reference fashion, photography,

and culture. We encourage apprentices to develop an eye, to see, not just do. And perhaps most importantly, we aim to show them that hairdressing is cool. That it is a craft with depth, creativity, and endless possibility. That mastering the fundamentals doesn't limit them, it empowers them.

The response over the past 18 months has been incredibly encouraging. Apprentices are more engaged when they understand the "why" behind what they are learning. They take greater pride in their work when they can see its relevance beyond the salon chair. And they begin to build confidence not just in their hands, but in their creative thinking.

As an industry, we have a responsibility to ensure that the next generation is not only productive, but proficient. Not only fast, but considered. Because trends will continue to change, tools will continue to evolve, and client expectations will only grow. But the need for strong, adaptable, technically sound hairdressers will remain constant.

Reinvesting in foundational training, while connecting it to modern fashion and real-world

application, is not a step backwards. It is, in fact, the way forward. Because when we give apprentices both the skills and the vision, we don't just train hairdressers,

we shape the future of our industry.