Got a magazine from the newsagents the other day called Star (its like Heat and Reveal, fashion, famous gossip etc) and i saw this in there...

should i have been surprised to see this in a gossip mag or that it mentions doing this course for either a great career or "hobby"...do you think that this kind of advertising is good for our proffesion...?

where do you think adverts for nail training should be..and do you think encouraging "hobby" techs is right..?

I find this sort of thing so depressing. In my neck of the woods we get quite of few hobbyists - mostly aircrew on their days off.

This sort of advert can only add to them IMO. It also gives the impression that it is like learning something in front of the telly - piece of cake.

I don't see the harm as there are ads for other professions. Besides, unless they are qualified, they won't get insured so I doubt they'll be taking business away from anyone. If you're thinking along the lines of them doing harm to someones nails, I'm afraid to say that I've seen a few qualified techs do that.

I know where you're coming from though Bagpuss but I don't think they're anything to worry about.

I also bought the "star" mag and saw that advertisement.

My initial reaction was "hmmm yeah right, it makes it out to be a really easy set up" (was thinking aloud to my self btw)
I guess i was a little shocked to see it, especialy in the mag mentioned but the more i thought about it the more i remember seeing other ads in mags for nails & beauty training.
I wouldnt like to say if i think its right or wrong, im pretty much neutral on it, i supose you have to advertise where its going to get across the most.

I dont know where i really stand, if i was to say "yes it under-minds our profession" then i would by a hypocrite...why because thats how i actually started out.
saw a similar ad...by the same company as the one in the photo......and there started my career....i did carry on to do other courses classroom courses...but it was that kind of advert that got me started.
But saying that from another perspective.......would we see adverts for " buy a pair of scissors and a dvd and you can be a hairdresser"...it would be pretty appalling if we did so yes it probably does undermine our industry........................mmmnnnn will have to sit on the fence with this one.
Good thread though ang

It just annoys me that it encourages more hobby techs rather than is aimed at the people who really do want to do this as a career.
You don't see many adverts for other jobs that are also thought of as a hobby do you?

In my opinion, the fact they advertise the word 'hobby', shows the training company don't give a flying hoot about this industry.

We can't stop people having a go as a hobby, I mean don't they sell kits in Argos? We don't necessarily employ a qualified tradesman to do work in our home if we think we can DIY, its the same sort of thing really. Personally I might have a go at painting and decorating, but make a hash of it and think, OK, I admit it, I'm not up to scratch, next time I will definitely get a professional in...

The other thing is, there are probably some hobbyists who do better nails than classroom trained so called professionals. I've had nails done by a professional that look like a child did them.

That would be the type of hobbyist who could actually benefit from a course and think about going into business?
Hopefully you have found someone better to do your nails now x

What annoys me is their wording 'train to be a nail tech and make ££££'

How misleading is that? It takes people years to build a business - and to make a profit - along with experience.

I don't see a problem with the advert at all, i mean you see adverts in all kind of magazines and newspapers for professions from Army, Paramedics, Nurses to Cleaners, Waste collectors and Sewage workers.
If there is a demand for these jobs people will do the training to get them.
And if they are not up to the challenge then the training will put them off, as i'm sure you will all agree it's not EASY to qualify at all.
Same goes for the hobby part of it, what if the person is disabled and unable to work but would like a hobby to do so that they get to mix with people and are prepared to put in the hard work.
I have a friend who spends most of her day sat in a wheelchair and has never had any training in nails at all but she has taught herself and gets great pleasure out of doing her daughters nails for her and i must say they are fantastic.
Each to their own i say.
QUESTION? How many of you started out doing nails as just a hobby?