The world is constantly changing, and humans generally have to try to keep up with it for fear of missing out on a lot of information. This is true in many areas of life, including technology, education, food, health, the environment, and many more. Fashion is also advancing rapidly. Designers who want it must be able to benefit from adequate updates to stay in the race. Training or masterclass seems to be more and more an effective alternative to acquire more know-how, and even students enrolled in vocational training schools are not indifferent to it.

Why follow masterclasses or training?

Attending masterclasses or trainings gives the possibility to update or deepen one's skills. Some people take part in it to better understand a subject or adapt to a particularly difficult situation. For other designers, the objective of these trainings is to allow them to acquire new knowledge on a subject of which they are ignorant. The reasons vary from person to person, but whatever they are, getting the right training is a real advantage.

Masterclasses can be defined as meetings organized to connect professionals and beginners from a given sector. Beginners can take advantage of the know-how and experience of the guests to perfect their own experience. In addition, masterclasses allow for networking.

In all major African cities, masterclasses are organized for workers in the fashion sector. According to Michèle Okeï, Director of Studies at the “Ecole internationale de formation professionnelle Michele” in Abidjan, there is a lot of theoretical and practical training, but themes such as digital, finance, management or even communication are not discussed in depth. Having students participate in masterclasses helps them understand the ecosystem related to their field of activity.

When you start out in the fashion industry, you can't just rely on your talents as a designer or influencer. You also need skills in business management, accounting, digital strategies, and many others. Rather than spending entire days in a classroom, designers don’t hesitate to participate in training or masterclasses to fill the skills gap they have.

Where to get trained?

Today there are more and more training courses for entrepreneurs. With the internet, you can find them easily. Take a tour of the platforms that promote events, and you will discover dozens of masterclasses organized in Lagos, Abidjan, Lomé, Dakar, Addis Ababa, etc. A wide choice is available to designers who wish to deepen their skills. Certain courses are expensive, but there are others with affordable prices. In addition, there are also free training courses. They are most often sponsored. This is particularly the case of the Fashionomics Africa masterclasses which were in their 2nd edition in Lagos from October 27 to 28, 2019. A few days before, it was the city of Abidjan which hosted this series of masterclasses whose objective is to '' support fashion entrepreneurs, from design to completion of their project, and foster the emergence of the next generation of African Start-ups in the sector. The Fashionomics Africa masterclasses do not fill a void, but rather reinforce what already exists. Their main advantage is that they are free. Besides physical masterclasses, there are MOOCs, an acronym formed by the initials of Massive Open Online Course. These are online courses open to everyone, and are also generally free.

For designers who have the opportunity, it is recommended to take intensive courses in the languages ​​often used internationally before attending MOOCs or masterclasses. A person who is not very strong in French can take an intensive course in this language for example. If it is rather with English that you have a lot of trouble, then make yourself comfortable in English lessons. This will be very useful, because there are lots of very interesting information to discover in one or the other of these languages.