Hairdresser Lynette Joseph is on cloud nine after being announced the winner of the Tutor of the Year Award at the Hairdressing Industry Training Organisation (HITO) Awards.
The annual awards, held at the Wellington Town Hall on Sunday night, celebrate excellence in training in the hairdressing industry.
Ms Joseph, a hairdressing tutor at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, was overwhelmed to hear her name announced as the winner of the prestigious award.
"It's such a huge honour as I was up against some serious competition," she said. "The win cements for me all the hard work and effort that regularly goes into ensuring our students get the best possible training they deserve.
"I have a real passion for teaching; it's an amazing journey to encourage students to step up and watch them grow into award winning stylists."
Her prize included training vouchers to the value of $1,000 of as well as a gift basket of Schwarzkopf products.
"I'm looking forward to sharing some of my knowledge and skills with the wider HITO community. It's such an exciting industry and it's so important that we don't get stagnant and move to evolve hairdressing within the ever-changing world of fashion."
