It looks like Jenny Eastwood was meant to 'fall into' hairdressing.
The 20-year-old yesterday found out she defeated nine other competitors in the category during the national WorldSkills competition.
'I burst into tears and could not stop shaking, couldn't get out of my seat. Then started just crying and crying and crying with happiness,' she said.
There was more to come. She was also the top-scoring apprentice for the Waikato region.
'That's kind of just surreal. I just can't even . . . It doesn't even feel real.'
The WorldSkills competition at Wintec's Rotokauri campus on Friday and Saturday tested 90 Kiwi apprentices. Their skills ranged from window dressing to plumbing and heating.
The Waikato was well-represented when the category medallists were announced yesterday.
The challenges for apprentices were tasks or projects relevant to their trades, and Eastwood most enjoyed the lady's cut with three client wishes.
'There was so much creative freedom in that. I just went with my gut instincts and actually ended up surprising myself,' she said.
'I've always been interested in fun, funky hair.'
Eastwood almost didn't make hairdressing her trade - she started a journalism degree at Wintec then quickly decided it wasn't for her.
In Auckland, a friend asked her to be a hair model.
She fell in love with the art and pestered her friend until she got a job.
'It happened by accident and I just absolutely loved it.'
She's now back in Hamilton, training at Wintec, working at Morph Hair in Five Cross Roads and coached by Bianca Karam-Walley of Team 7 in Te Awamutu.
In May she qualified for the national WorldSkills when she won a regional hairdressing competition - her first ever.
She wasn't even expecting to place at the nationals, but now she faces 'hard-out training' for the next six months before the Oceania competition, also at Wintec.
WorldSkills New Zealand executive chairman Bruce Howat likened the weekend of competition to a pressure cooker.
'It's a real measurement of if you can stand up to the mark. 'It's great to see so many focused, skilled and enthusiastic young people in one place.'
Wintec also performed well under pressure, he said, as the trade workshop of its new engineering building was signed off and handed over only the afternoon before the competition began. Category winners from the national competition move on to compete at Oceania level. From there, they could be selected for the New Zealand Tool Blacks team to compete at the international competition in Brazil. The WorldSkills NZ competitions are open to anyone undertaking trade/skill training and people under 23 who have finished their training. libby.wilson@fairfaxmedia.co.nz
WAIKATO WINNERS
Autobody Repair, Gold, David Fox, Wade Collision Repair Automotive Technology, Silver, Chelcie Kuriger, Waikato Toyota Bricklaying, Gold, Andrew Heath, Kevin Heath Bricklaying Ltd Hairdressing, Gold, Jenny Eastwood, Morph Hair Studio Sheet Metal Technology, Gold, Michael Benson, Stainless Design Ltd Sheet Metal Technology, Silver, Cameron Besley, Mainline Sheet Metals Ltd Web Design, Gold, Damian Small, Vision College student BEST IN REGION AWARD Jenny Eastwood, Morph Hair Studio.
- Waikato Times
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