South West College Hairdressing Graduate educates new apprentices and takes on Australia

South West College graduate Shane Woods; formerly of Omagh but now based in Perth, Western Australia, currently enjoys life as Style Director for Maurice Meade, a nationally renowned chain of hairdressing salons with 9 across the city of Perth.

As a former pupil of St Ciaran’s High School in Ballygawley, he had a real love of art and made the decision to pursue a career path in hair for the opportunities to get creative and to hone a skill that was transferrable anywhere in the world. Shane chose South West College’s Omagh campus, where he studied both the City & Guilds Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Barbering, the City & Guilds Level 2 Diploma in Hairdressing and the City & Guilds Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Hairdressing.

Shane worked locally in the Omagh area building upon his experience before emigrating to Perth and has been working there since 2016.

Shane spoke with warmth and positivity on his time studying at the college:

“I really enjoyed my time with South West College for the endless enjoyment in my education and training. Get yourself a qualification to further your career and skills and see where it might take you. A huge thank you to my lecturers for everything.”

In his current capacity as Style Director, he is responsible for educating the new apprentices on the styles and techniques that his current employer is known for along with encouraging creative flair for new recruits to share the same opportunities to showcase talent as he has himself experienced. Shane is certainly an aspirational individual who is keen to establish his own brand in Australia:

“I have worked on many television commercials and photoshoots and I intend to open my own salon in Australia in the next 3 years”.

If you’re inspired by Shane’s story and would like to explore a similar career in barbering or hairdressing, visit www.swc.ac.uk and search for ‘hair’ using our course search tool today.