Don’t you just love synchronicity? A couple of years ago, I was on the way to our regional campus in a small town called Colac. The road was an event in itself but halfway there I found a small caféwhere I would buy a coffee and whatever took my fancy in the bain-marie. Three kilos later, it became ‘my snack place’ every Wednesday. The food and the service were excellent and these days, minus the three kilos, I think of my visits there with great fondness.

After a few months or these weekly stops, I finally had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Jodi, who asked me ‘what exactly do you do? Apart from eat my food?’

When I told her I was involved in the marketing and student support for a Hairdressing and Beauty college she stopped and smiled this small wistful smile and said, ‘I always wanted to become a hairdresser.’

Now as a woman gets older we often think of the should haves, the could haves and the would have and I recognised ‘that’ look in Jodi’s eyes.

It’s not too late’ I said, to which she responded with a good chuckle.

I was adamant though- it wasn’t too late. I’ve seen many women over 30 (and some), prove that age is no barrier to learning a new trade, over and over. It never was too late to study or learn something new if you still carried passion for it. I showed her some flyers and with a twinkle in her eyes and heart, we made an appointment to visit the campus.

Within one week she had enrolled in a Certificate III in Hairdressing-SHB30416 and began her first day. A year later was successfully running her own hairdressing business, as well as my much-loved café. Life can change if you make a choice and take a chance on your old dreams. Jodi proved this once again.

She was a model student and with all ages present in our school she merged into her new existence with ease. Everyone adored her because she was so enthusiastic about her new found hairdressing skills and carried a lifetime of wisdom when it came to customer service and business. The young women sharing her study days became huge fans and picked up more than one tip or two on what good work ethics meant.

There is no prejudice at the Centre of Excellence when it comes to age- if you are capable and have the willingness to upskill into a new career we will support you all the way. So revisit that old dream and make it into your new reality!