Katie Birks has been in the Barbering industry for 18years. Katie Birks started her hairdressing career back in 2007 and has adapted into the barbering world since 2016. Katie started working at HMP Oakwood in 2016 managing her own Barbering Academy delivering NVQ Level 2 and Level 3 Barbering qualifications. Katie has trained long term prisoners to become assessors within the academy which supports rehabilitation. Katie has been a finalist for Best Educator 2024 and 2025 for the Modern Barber Awards. Katie feels by sharing her work it will encourage the industry to support rehabilitation as she believes the men leaving the Oakwood Barbering Academy are the ones to look out for in the future.