Training is vital to stay ahead of the game

The theme for this week has definitely been training - although, as usual, I've covered a couple of thousand miles in the process! On Monday, I was teaching for L'Oréal in London; on Tuesday, it was L'Oréal Manchester; Wednesday, the Freelance Hair and Beauty Association and on Thursday, I was in Dundee for a salon visit. I do regular training sessions with the Freelance Hair and Beauty Association and have now developed a real understanding of what they require. This time, it was a morning demo and afternoon workshop on Saks' current fashion collection.

Mobile hairdressers get a bad press and that is a massive shame because there is room for all types within the industry and there are a lot of people out there who want someone to come to them to do their hair. They have a challenging job because they are always on the move, quite isolated and trying to offer a quality service without tools like a backwash, mirror or proper chair. However, they have earned a bad reputation because it is questionable whether some of them keep up to date with the latest trends and techniques.Members of the Freelance Hair and Beauty Association, on the other hand, are always educating themselves and staying in touch with the latest developments, which is why I am proud to be associated with them.It is a similar ethos that makes me place such an emphasis on the on-going education of the Saks team. Hairdressing is a fast-changing industry and you have to take training very seriously in order to not only survive but stay ahead of the game.Staying with the subject of training, I found the Grandad's Back in Business documentary on Monday night really interesting.

It portrayed hairdressing and the training and opportunities within the industry in a positive light and the Galvins did justice to a delicate subject. I couldn't make up my mind which one I wanted to win and I did struggle with how I would deal with someone of that sort of age. Ageism is still prevalent in the working environment and hairdressing, in particular, is historically a young industry.In the end, the youngster was given her chance and it would be quite interesting to see what she is doing now. Come on HJi, see what you can find out...Next week, I'm back off to Thailand to do some seminars in Bangkok. I'll do my best to blog while I'm away, but if not look out for my issue of Hairdressers Journal International, which comes out next Friday. I'm not a journalist, but I rose to the challenge and Ruth was very impressed with my writing. It was really interesting putting it together and I look forward to seeing the finished article when I get back from Bangkok. Picture courtesy of the BBC