Day 2 Module 2 – Men’s haircut with clipper: A seemingly satisfied Rachelle Jones displays her finished product of work at the end of the second and final day of the hairdressing competition. (TVET Council)

Day two of the WorldSkills Russia (WSR) Nationals – Digital and Hybrid Eurasian Hairdressing Competition concluded on Thursday, July 8. following 14 hours of intense work spread over a two-day period.

The contest was held virtually for the first time allowing the skill experts from each of the five participating countries – India, Belarus (two competitors), Russia, Kazakhstan and Barbados – to continuously assess the competitors in the four modules which comprised the Test Project.

WorldSkills Barbados’ Expert in Hairdressing, Arlette Knight-Olton, believed that the process of judging and evaluating the competitors provided a bit more clarity.

She explained: “This process was long and rigorous and has brought clarity on how to adjust my teaching and mentoring, while preparing Rachelle’s training.”

The four modules in this competition presented participants with a variety of haircuts and techniques for both women and men, as well as a test of the competitors’ ability to provide excellent customer service despite any obstacles they may face.

Barbados’ competitor, Rachelle Jones said that the hairdressing competition taught her other practical skills in addition to styling hair and providing excellent customer service.

She explained: “It taught me that time management and preparation is important. When we started on day one, there were a few things that I did not have and that made me realise that prepping beforehand is very important.”

She continued: “All in all it was a very interesting journey because I have first-hand experience in what is required at the international competition.”

The Barbados’ delegation (left to right) Communication Officer, Samantha Jones; Technical Delegate, Dario Walcott; Competitor, Rachelle Jones; Expert in Hairdressing, Arlette Knight-Olton; Communication Intern, Annastacia Bernard; and Team Leader, Sarah Gilkes-Daniel. (TVET Council)

Underlining the advantages of competition experience, Barbados’ Technical Delegate, Dario Walcott explained: “At the end of day two, I think that TVET Council (TVETC) and WorldSkills Barbados (WSB) have gained what we wanted to gain from this competition. When we reviewed our performance at our first international competition…one of the things we recognized we needed was competition experience…and when we received this invitation from WSR to compete in the online competition…we jumped at the opportunity.”

The WorldSkills Russia Nationals is an annual competition for young skilled professionals in secondary school and tertiary institutions. The event utilises WorldSkills standards and is part of the framework of a federal project “Young Professionals”, which is part of their national project “Education”.

The event was offered virtually for the first time to accommodate current ‘conditions that have challenged the professional training system’.

WorldSkills Russia further noted that not only competitions were moving to a virtual format but also educational and work processes which thus contributed to the formation of new models of employment and jobs in the labour market.

For further information please visit the WorldSkills Barbados website.

TVET Council Barbados

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