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20-year-old hairdressing student, Jane Pearson from Paisley was turning heads recently when she took first place at both the Scottish heat of the Skills Challenge hairdressing competition and the UK final earlier this year. The Reid Kerr college hairdressing student has been blowing away the competition at a number of national events and her success in the Skills Challenge final has landed her the chance to participate in the Worldskills short listing training events through September and October this year at the L’Oreal Hairdressing Academy in London.
Jane is currently travelling to London to receive her training and will compete against other hairdressing students from the whole of the UK in a bid to secure a place at the World Skills finals competition in Japan 2007.
Jane is currently travelling to London to receive her training and will compete against other hairdressing students from the whole of the UK in a bid to secure a place at the World Skills finals competition in Japan 2007.
UK Skills will make final decisions on who will represent the UK in a selection of trades in February 2007.
World Skills, the world’s biggest skills competition, aims to raise the status and standards of vocational skills and training worldwide in a variety of disciplines and Jane is delighted to be competing at such a high level. She commented, “I was delighted to win the competition for Scotland and the UK, and I now have the bug for competition work. The training in London is a fantastic opportunity and it is great to experience the training as well as the travelling at this stage in my career.”
“I am competing against students with a lot more experience than myself and it is encouraging to know that I can perform at their level.”
Senior lecturer from Reid Kerr college Val Lang currently mentors Jane and is proud of her success to date. She said, “Reid Kerr College hairdressing department has an excellent track record in national competitions and we are delighted about Jane’s success so far. Her ongoing achievements are a great reflection of her dedication and motivation as well as that of the staff at the college.”
John Baird, Head of hospitality, hairdressing and beauty at Reid Kerr added, “Jane's achievements to date demonstrate the enthusiasm, dedication and professionalism of Valerie Lang and her team of hairdressing lecturers at the college. All of our hairdressing students are encouraged to participate in competition work and every year they enjoy a great deal of success. Jane has done particularly well as a first year student and has the potential to rise to the very top of her profession.”
Jane enrolled at Reid Kerr in 2005 to study for a National Certificate (NC) in Hairdressing and has just returned to college to continue with the second year of the programme. She said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Reid Kerr so far. In particular the competition work which has been a huge challenge and a lot of hard work. I also get to work in the college hairdressing salon open to public once a week. This gives me the practical experience of working with others which is an important part of my training.”
Jane was pleased to secure sponsorship with two major hairdressing suppliers, Salon Services and L’Oreal, providing her with the relevant resources needed to continue with her competition success. Jane completes her training at the L’Oreal Academy in October this year.
Weighing up her success so far Jane says, “I aim to do well in the next level of competition and it would be amazing to go forward to the next stage to represent the UK in Japan 2007. I have plenty of ideas for the future and hope to incorporate make-up artistry into my bank of skills, but most of all in the world of hairdressing I would love to be world champion!”
Jane will also appear at Salon International in London this year. He special invitation came from City & Guilds who are sponsoring the Fellowship of Hairdressers stage at the event, where she will showcase her work to an audience of thousands, who come to view the cutting-edge of hairdressing.
For more information about hairdressing at Reid Kerr College, contact Student Services on 0800 052 7343.
Press Release: Wednesday 20 September 2006
