Innovations Salon showcases world class training facilities

WorldSkills UK recently chose the specialist beauty facilities at Burton and South Derbyshire College’s (BSDC) Innovations Hair & Beauty Salon as the training location for student competitor, Rebecca West, in preparation for the 45th WorldSkills competition in Kazan, Russia.

WorldSkills UK Training Manager for Beauty, Jenna Bailey MBE returned to Burton and South Derbyshire College to train this year’s UK representative for beauty, having previously used the College’s facilities to train competitors.

This isn’t the only way in which Jenna is familiar with the College; 20 years ago, Jenna was trained by Burton and South Derbyshire College’s Chief Executive and Principal, Dawn Ward CBE when she was the WorldSkills UK Chief Expert in Beauty in 1999, the year of the first ever beauty competition which was held in Montreal, Canada.

Jenna is now training the next generation and was joined by WorldSkills UK Assistant Training Manager for Beauty, Naomi Radbourne, who was also returning to the College, but as BSDC alumni. Naomi studied Level 3 Beauty Therapy at BSDC and represented the College in the 2011 WorldSkills national finals where she won silver, as well as in 2013 where she won gold, for which she was trained by then-BSDC Beauty Course Leader and current Deputy Director, Jackie Heaton. Naomi went on to become a lecturer at the College, passing her skills and knowledge on to the budding beauty therapists of Burton-on-Trent. Next, she won gold as Assistant Workshop Manager at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017, and then became WorldSkills UK national judge and alumni, followed by her current role of Assistant Training Manager.

Jenna and Naomi trained East Sussex College apprentice, Rebecca West, in preparation for facing competition from around the world and to represent her college, country and sector in the world’s toughest championship.

Throughout the week, Jenna and Naomi ran a series of training sessions and pressure tests for Rebecca, covering facials, spa body treatments, hot stone massaging, waxing, make-up and nail art. Rebecca honed her skills during the training and went on to achieve a gold medal in the competition.

Jenna commented: “We are delighted to bring WorldSkills training back to BSDC. The College is a centre of excellence and the facilities are of a very high standard. Not only this, but the staff are outstanding. They’re keen, motivated, helpful and supportive and have even provided guest judges throughout the week.”

Jackie Heaton, Deputy Director at Burton and South Derbyshire College said: “We’re delighted to have had our facilities selected to host a training programme for WorldSkills competitors. We’re passionate about supporting WorldSkills competitions and encouraging students to take their technical skills to the next level.”