Educator in focus: Lydia Jordane

Founder of Lyon Cosmetics Lydia Jordane reveals the importance of continued learning.

What does it mean to you to be an educator?
As an educator means I need to take responsibility to deliver appropriate and worthwhile training that the individual and the industry will benefit by. It is important to be up to date in our field and be realistic in knowing what is essential and to understand what individual needs are, so we can tailor and provide the best for each attendee. We need to be flexible, and not just educate for the sake of educating, but make sure attendees gain knowledge and practical experience they can use to provide better services and information to clients. 

It is important to evaluate why certain industry professionals have come to the education we provide, or why their managers sent them to us, or if they have come of their own accord for their own self development. We provide thorough theory/ product knowledge and also practical hands on training so the trainee will gain sufficient and adequate information and practical experience to upscale their professional skills and make a difference. We must be able to modify how we teach each person, determining what will make a difference for them, so they can become more confident and professional.

There are a lot of challenges in the industry what do you consider to be one of the biggest challenges for your business when it comes to education?
We have some incredible beauty colleges and training facilities in Australia who are very dedicated in providing the best training in all the beauty aspects. However, it seems many therapists in their early careers to not demonstrate confidence in their practical skills, as they often don’t get enough practical experience during their beauty therapy training. They can come out of college feeling confident having completed their qualification, but find out they are not skilled enough to offer a professional and well-informed service. They are still great employees with a lot of great knowledge up their sleeves, but the salons who employ them often need to retrain and guide them on the job, before they can run with how things are in the real world. This is always a challenge for salon owners, as it takes a lot of time to train up new staff. Then they might leave and have to do it all over again with the next ones they employ.

How important is it for members of the beauty industry to stay updated and further their education?
It is very important to stay up to date with new techniques, new treatments, new products, new systems, new machinery and new ways of doing the same old thing, because it must never feel like the same old thing. As a beauty therapist, it is important we continue to learn and seek the latest information about everything that is available to us. We may not want to implement some of the things we learn or find out, but we need to know about them and be able to give advice to clients about the pros and cons of anything to do with treatments and products. This applies to the beauty educators, particularly if they are not exposed to general salon work, as things can become dated. We greatly support this and achieve through our college training visits, where we not only train the students, we also involve the teachers so they can benefit from our training and stay current in their professional development. When the teachers keep up to date, they will be better able to assist their students with their learning, ideas, questions and interpretations.

Have you had any experiences (work, travel, health, relationships) outside of the beauty industry that you believe makes your training different?
I have been exposed to many cultures and languages from a very young age and have a handle on about 10 languages as a result. When overseas, I’m fortunate to be able to deliver training in some languages and at times they come in handy in Australia too in classes and general discussions. Being able to speak to some people in their own language brakes down barriers and they feel more comfortable to learn and ask questions. I love the ability to practice training in a different language and if I get stumped for a word, English of course comes to the rescue and there is body and sign language that doesn’t go astray as well. It doesn’t matter if a trainer cannot train in any another language but English. It is important to be accommodating and to change how we explain to someone who may not have the best English, so they feel supported and are gaining the knowledge they have come for. In the end, as an educator, it is our responsibility to ensure everyone understands the knowledge we convey so they will learn from us and benefit. 

Apart from the ‘skills and facts’ in your training courses, what else do you try to instil / develop / encourage in therapists? Why?
Apart from training skills, I love to instil confidence in whoever I am training. Whether I am in Australia or overseas I find some therapists can be very nervous and through nervousness and fear they block their learning ability. It is necessary to break through the fear, so they can actually learn and practice correctly. In relation to waxing, they can be so afraid to hurt the client and carry a lot of pain in their own heads, which should not happen if they wax correctly.

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