Karen Christensen Hair & Beauty

Wells

Karen Christensen

Proprietor

Karen Christensen knows a great hairstyle when she sees one – and she knows a great college, too. Which is why the hairdresser who’s spent decades making the people of Wells look even more stylish uses Stode College to train her apprentices.

“I was given a fantastic opportunity to learn when I did my own apprenticeship 20 years ago,” says Karen, whose eponymous salon, Karen Christensen Hair & Beauty, has made her a household name in Wells.

“My boss then was brilliant and a hard taskmaster and that’s what my success is down to. It all comes down to training.

“In an industry like this, you have to give something back. I also have to get the youngsters coming in, and Strode College help us find people. They even do the apprentices’ interviews with us at the moment.

“I think Strode are particularly good. I’ve used three colleges but Strode are the best. It’s more like a family down there.

“The tutors are very easy to talk to, and they’re honest. They feed back well to the students, and we have a good working relationship with them.”

Karen’s own experience as an apprentice gives her an insight into her apprentices’ challenges, and she loves watching them succeed in what is a highly-competitive industry.

“I’ve had stylists go away to another salon and then come back, which is a good reflection on us,” she says.

“Our apprentices have all been so good. Elizabeth Waters is a particularly good stylist. She did her apprenticeship to Level 3.

“She came as a school leaver and we supported her all the way through. She was a star. And now she’s very successful and fully qualified.”

Elizabeth, who went to Strode College one day a week during her apprenticeship, is very happy with the training and support she received there as well as at the salon.

“I wanted to earn money at the same time as training,” she says. “I’d heard from previous apprentices that you get a lot more experience in a salon – and it’s nice to be learning in a work environment.

“I always tell people to go for an apprenticeship. You’re not guaranteed a job, but there’s a higher chance of getting one.”

Strode College