Ambassador for hairdressing in Wales, plans to press the Welsh Government to lead the way by making state registration of qualified hairdressers compulsory.

She describes state registration as a crucial step on the road to gaining universal recognition and respect for the profession.

Her campaign will take her to: Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen, Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff, Newport, RCT, Blaenau Gwent, Ebbw Vale. Mid Wales and North Wales and Mrs Davis-Fox will be visiting salons as well as FEI’s to gain support.

A Pan Wales Hair and Beauty Steering Committee, which she chairs, is supporting state registrations, as are Further Education Institutions in Wales.

Out of 18 members, she is proud to be the only Welsh representative of the Hairdressing Council and aims to use her position to raise the profile and status of the industry.

“We encourage all our learners to understand and accept the importance of state registration as a way of showing that they are proud to belong to a respected profession,”.

“State registration is the only way we are going to get recognition and respect for the profession from the public and politicians. I have a mission to do whatever I can to change the perception of this vibrant and professional industry.”

A motion in Parliament by her Hairdressing Council colleague, David Morris, MP, to introduce mandatory state registration was recently defeated by just four votes.

Mrs Davis-Fox said comments made by some MPs during the debate revealed that they did not perceive hairdressing as a serious profession.

However, she emphasised that hairdressing contributes £5 billion a year to the UK economy and employs 245,000 people. There are 34,000 salons and 38.8 million consumers.

“Hairdressers are expected to use potentially dangerous chemicals to achieve a desired look, yet the industry remains completely unregulated,” she added. ”Most consumers believe hairdressers must be qualified before they can practise on the public and are shocked when they find this is not the case.

“Hairdressers should be brought into line with other professions, which have a register of qualified practitioners. Consumers would then be assured that the person doing their hair has been trained to a required standard and it would bring hairdressing in line with other countries worldwide, which already have regulations.”

“I did all my training as a hairdresser on the job and I have always thought that the best way to train people is in the workplace,” she said. “It’s an exciting opportunity to join the leading provider of hair and beauty training in Wales with the Welsh Government’s new work-based learning contracts rolling out.

ISA MD Shirley Davis-Fox is delighted with Berni’s appointment: “With Berni’s knowledge and experience, her appointment to ISA Training is a marriage made in heaven. She will strengthen the board of directors and I am looking forward to working closely with her. I expect Berni to do great things with the company in terms of working more collaboratively with Further Education Institutions and introducing the Welsh Baccalaureate into the hair and beauty sector of work based learning.”

Berni is looking forward to getting out and about over the next few months to visit salons and is also keen to set up networking events for the sector such as breakfast meetings to enhance communication between salons and ISA Training.

ISA learners can register by visiting
www.apprenticeextra.co.uk