“WE SHOULD BE AN ASPIRATIONAL INDUSTRY – WE SHOULD BE PAYING THE MOST WE CAN” – KEN WEST

Salon Smart perennial Ken West, from coaching experts 3.6.5 Hair, was cunningly controversial, telling the audience to stop looking for 16-year-old talents (they’re not there!) and look instead at hiring older apprentices.

“We’ve built an industry on slave labour,” he exclaimed, before presenting the financial case for taking on older apprentices – better communication skills, better work ethics, motivated, focused… and while initially more expensive due to the National Minimum Wage, they’re keen and can be trained quicker to give you a better return on investment. It touched a nerve – recruitment and the lack of young talent was on everyone’s mind, and will play a big part in the content of Salon Smart ’17!