After receiving a Distinction in Level 2 Cutting and Styling last year, Charlie Boler decided to stay at Chesterfield College and advance onto the Level 2 in Colouring Services. He told us what first sparked his passion for hairdressing and explained the range of careers available after he finishes his course.
What drew you to hairdressing originally?
“I honestly had no idea what I wanted to do to start with, I was really unsure, but at the time I was getting into watching a lot of YouTube tutorials around hairdressing.
I’d always enjoyed being creative, so I started practising some of the hairdressing I’d seen online on my family – my mum and even my two younger brothers.
I really enjoyed it and it made me realise that it was something I wanted to go into professionally. That’s when I started the Level 2 Cutting and Styling.”
Why did you decide to continue at Chesterfield College after your Level 2 in Cutting and Styling?
“I wanted to progress onto the Colouring Services course because I got a Distinction last year in my Level 2 Certificate for Cutting and Styling Services and that really motivated me to see how far I could go with it.
I got so much out of last year’s course, so I just wanted to keep learning more and continue building up my skills.”
What are you enjoying about the course so far?
“One of my favourite elements is foiling. That’s something that I didn’t really know about before starting the course and there’s so many things you can do with it. You can do balayage, you can do full heads of highlights.
I’ve also had a work placement in a local salon. It’s been really good to practise the techniques I’ve been learning, both in the salon and at college.
For the Level 2 course, you need a work placement for 1 day a week and that led to a Saturday job for me, which is great!”
Support
“The support has been amazing! My tutors are always on hand to help, I have Janice and Mel who are both really supportive. If I’m ever struggling with anything, they always guide me through it.
I remember when I couldn’t even hold a blow-dryer and that was just last year. To think I can now do all these different colour treatments using different techniques, that’s all thanks to my tutors and their guidance.”
Future aspirations
“There are so many different pathways I’ve considered going down. I’m considering doing the Level 3 course, which is basically advancing the skills from this Level 2 course and building on your existing knowledge. It teaches you a lot more advanced colour techniques and things like perming and barbering.
Alternatively, because I promote a lot of treatments at the salon, I’ve been considering going into marketing in the hairdressing industry.
Eventually, I would love to have my own salon. That would be the big dream.”
