Networking experience

1. World Skills: Barber Competition, 8th
of March 2022, Sunderland College City Campus.
The event was with Mark Sowerby, a
professional barber as well as a
lecturer at Sunderland College.
Holding the competition as well as
taking part in the photography for it,
Mark was one of the first students to
enrol at Sunderland College in 1991.
Becoming a lecturer there in 2012,
Mark counts professional sports
people and judges among his clients
at his own barbershop which is in
Jesmond.
Volunteering to help take both images and videos for the event, I got to learn a little more about
the art of barbering and he pressure these students go through learning to perfect their skills. I
also didn’t know until this that there are barbering competitions that get held.
I guess you could say I have learnt a little more about the barbering industry, not a huge amount
but with what I have experienced I would never have imagined an event to be like that before
now.

2. Taking part in this has also opened my eyes to the opportunities filmmakers have in the industry
of media. For something that doesn’t really seem like a big deal to people who aren’t involved
with the competition, things like this offer so much for people in all industries.
Although I wouldn’t say I got to meet anyone relevant to my needs, I did get to meet some
interesting people who I never would have if it weren’t for assisting the competition.
Doing the filming for this competition, it actually helped me get more comfortable with using the
DSLR camera as well as gain knowledge and experience with using one which works when going
towards my own video projects for college.
Working alongside professionals whom I had never met before, I believe communication and
leadership skills were a key development as a lot had gone on with this event. Including figuring
out where I was and having to take charge with what I was doing which helped me gain a better
understanding of how people in the industry do their job. I would also say camera skills were
explored as I had only done so much with a camera before this event.