Tania Anderson
Academic Staff Member
School of Design, Innovation and Service Industries
Tania Anderson is a vocational educator with more than 30 years in the hairdressing industry and over two decades teaching the New Zealand Certificate in Hairdressing (Level 3) programme.
Tania began teaching in 1996 at Taranaki Polytechnic while still running her own hair studio. After selling the salon, she moved to London, teaching for Joshua Galvin for almost two years before travelling throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia.
Tania says hairdressing gave her a way to connect with people everywhere she went, from swapping a haircut for a drink to cutting hair in Egypt just for the experience.
“I managed a salon in Brisbane before returning home to Aotearoa and continuing my teaching career,” she says.
Since 2000, Tania has taught across private training establishments and polytechnic environments, including spending five years at our legacy institute, Bay of Plenty Polytechnic, then working at the Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology Rotorua campus before moving to teach hairdressing at our Tauranga campus.
Tania says she works to create a structured, supportive, and practical learning environment that effectively supports a diverse range of learners’ needs.
“This is so all students can build confidence and succeed. I encourage learners to have a go and embrace imperfect first attempts to grow in their skills, creativity and confidence,” Tania says. “Ka whakanuia e au te mana o ia ākonga. I honour the mana each learner brings. My role is to support them, uplift them, and help them step into their own potential with confidence and pride.”
Tania says hairdressing is a trade that continues to offer people real and transferable skills that they can take with them anywhere in the world and earn a living.
“Hairdressing is human. It’s connection, trust, creativity, and communication. Those things can’t be automated by AI… there’s always new skills to learn too. ” Tanisa says.
Outside of work, Tania has been a volunteer firefighter for 15 years and holds a leadership role within her brigade.