TRAINING

One has to indulge in self-learning to make his or her teachings even more dominant.

Blossom Kochhar, Chairperson, Blossom Kochhar Group of Companies, responds to questions posed by Shriyal Sethumadhavan that emphasise on training in the new normal and the required approach to eliminate the dearth of skilled manpower in the beauty industry. Excerpts:

How do you see the potential for hybrid training or teaching (a mix of offline and online) taking over in the new normal?

Hybrid training will prove to be an impressive way, even for the new normal. It came into prominence during the pandemic, but is going to be there in the future as well. For the beauty industry, a mix of online and offline teaching has to be followed. During online sessions, procedures and techniques can only be explained and conveyed to the learners, but it is also important to experience those methods practically. It transforms your learning into impactful work and skill. So, we have to keep it through hybrid training. A hybrid mix with apprenticeship can be the most influential way to reach even the remote areas, towns and other parts of India.

One is teaching, and one is self-learning: How would you define the significance of both in the beauty industry?

Teaching and self-learning are the two major prospects of this profession. One has to indulge in self-learning to make his or her teachings even more dominant, as selflearning can strengthen the teaching. Self-learning is an ongoing process and is even fundamental for every beauty expert. As the trends keep changing from time-to-time, it is important to keep oneself updated with all the latest trends. Regular learning helps experts keep themselves updated with the latest trends from the media, fashion, film industry and should incorporate them into skills.

The dearth of skilled manpower in the beauty industry has been one of the biggest challenges faced. How can all the stakeholders – industry experts, professionals, regulatory authorities and others – work in tandem to arrive at a solution?

The first way that can resolve this dearth is apprenticeship. It can help to prevent the dearth of skilled manpower in the beauty industry. While hiring an apprentice, it becomes easy for the hirers to explain all techniques and methods in the way they want them to be executed in their salons. Secondly, to add more people into this profession we need to add more glamour to it along with the good pay scales. We cannot pay anyone at a limited pay scale, as other jobs are offering a good amount that can even incline the interested people to those jobs. Good pay scales make it easier to attract more and more people into this profession or industry.

What would your top tips be to an aspiring trainer in the beauty industry?

We should understand that everybody cannot learn the same as each one differs from the other. Some are visual, some are auditory, and some are kinaesthetic, and into this profession, most people are kinaesthetic. But they should also be auditory and visual these are the main three things for this industry. Teach the person in such a way that they can encompass the whole of learning but can also work kinaesthetically, auditorily and visually. Experts should always try to make learners do well and always succeed in their profession. Devote your time and be passionate about teaching.

How can the beauty industry minimise the impact on the environment and not compromise on the quality and quantity of natural resources?

•Try to use and work with natural resources as much as possible. •From decor to beauty products, opt for natural resources. 

•Prefer using organic beauty products and techniques.

•Try to conserve water to a great extent as well. There are so many ways that can help in water conservation, and we can implement them to your routine.

•Using solar resources in the salons can also help to preserve the environment.

•Grow succulent plants in surroundings to keep the air fresh and purified, especially during the times of viral and bacterial infections.