does that course cover nails too? sorry for my ignorance but i've not had much to do with NVQ's.

I did my initial course at college. Then went on to do the CND Premasters after a year ........practise practise practise up until my masters in 2004

wow- thats loads more than my Level 2 Beauty therapy cost - for both kit & Fee's !!!!

I originally trained with Star Nails and did the Total Technician course like Scatty Fox did. I trained in L&P first, I enjoyed it, got some experience but wasn't keen on the products, plus i developed an allergy to it.

I tried various try me kits and fell in love with EZ Flow. I have since done an EZ FLow conversion which was the best training i have done to date. I have also done fibreglass training with Star and also did a conversion with Pronails with their gel.

I am doing a pedicure course with Pronails in March and will also do my Masters with EZ Flow later on this year. Education is so important and to do refresher courses every now and again is also very important. You can never know enough.

had my first set of L&P about 20 yrs ago now, and straight away wanted to do nails. couldn't find any courses to suit my pocket and so bought a kit from a local salon where i had my nails done. (yes, she sold me L&P!!). just kept on learning on the one hand and then started to do friends and family.
then i herd about MARCO BENITO nail salon in bham, he had just set up his salon, booked an appointment for a full set and learned alot from marco himself by watching his technics. he's brill.
got a job as a nail tech in my local town and did a day course with star nails VF21 system, didn't like products( L&P which cured under UVlamp).
trained with beautiful nails of telford.1 day course.
trained with star nails in silk/fibreglass 2 day course.
trained with IBD gels, 2 day course.
trained with Alessandro gels, 1 day course.
trained with creative l&p, one 2 one training with Jane cook in salon.
trained with En Vouge sculpting gels, one 2 one training at salon.
Then herd of Creative Brisa being launched at Gmex show and gigi demo'd me a fab nail......won me over, never looked back.
trained at bham academy with marco, Brisa conversion and masters.

Where I live, in order to work as a nail technician you must take a 400hr course and write a government exam in order to get a license. Once you have completed this, you can take extra courses in specific product lines.

I took my nail tech course (300hrs) and then took a month off and went back to complete an additional 500hrs to become an esthetician. Once finished that I took a Spa body wrap class, then a nail art class.

I started with a 2yr course, 18yrs ago, that in Quebec Canada was called a "DEP" in Cosmetology...Translates to mean "Professional Studies Diploma"

The 'main' was hairdressing.. but it also included manicures, pedicures, waxing, esthetics, facials, science, biology, some chemistry, business management.. etc...
PS: forgot to mention - we had client days 2-3 days of every week from the first month of school. PAYING clients. From the 3rd mth of school on.. I was booked 1mth in advance.. LOL (we had mostly ederly an students.. and some outsiders)... my name got around fast....I started doing local fashion shows and local theater groups for makeup and hair at 16.5yrs of age.

I did hairdressing for a few years... left it due to bad arthritis in one knee.
Been wearing enhancements on myself since I was 16... started doing my own after a week long course at 21yrs. Last year, took 2 more courses (abbreviated) and here I am.

I fully intend to take more courses when budget allows.... (I'm a stay at home mom, working evenings only)
I think education is key and something that should be actively pursued in this career or any other for that matter, if you want to be the best. And if you can't afford school, then read every single thing you can and attend every single 'free' exhibition or whatever....

the mind is a terrible thing to waste

i was lucky enough to earn while i was trained, like an apprenticeship i guess. after a year i sat for my diploma with creative. later i did similair with a salon that used a very dodgy brand of fibreglass. years later i did my masters, followed by some more training with nsi(e-file, airbrush and thier 101) also did my gel cert with ibd.

stupidly went head first into a pretty useless, very basic 3 day course which supposedly tught me mani pedi, L&P an gel!! Needless to say I have sought more training and am ezflow through and through. Just wish I had gone to them in the first place!

in 2000 did my course at a satellite nvq centre with michelle porter products, got more than half way through the nvq then got a job in a salon and never fininshed it, did my conversion to creative in 2002, masters in 2005 have just done pre masters and am doing doing tips and trouble shooting next week, have also had a coulpe of 121s at the milton keynes acadamy.

I did a 2 week course with a Creative Based Nail and Beauty Academy. This covered mostly Acrylic Application with some Mani, Pedi and Nail Art included. I also have done a short course in Electric Nail Drills, both completed successfully with certificates.

I attend heaps of demonstration days and have kept in constant (and I mean constant) touch with my educator who continues to help as much as she can, even over the phone.

I really feel that the 3 years Ive been going flat out in my own business has been the best education I could have, only thing is, I dont get certificates for that.

I chose the City & Guilds route as that was the initial option open to me and my lifestyle and passed my final exams for Manicure level 2 on the 7th of this month. I am a few weeks into doing the level 3 City & Guilds Applying Artificial Nails.
Taking this route is working for me so far- they are not 2 day courses as they run for approximately 6 months each so do manage to cover alot about hygiene, anatomy, legislations etc. The class environment is mainly for practise and guidance, then we have tons of work set to do at home.
I have read on here about many other training methods and courses which I hope to do in the future to build on my basic knowledge, doors which would not have opened to me otherwise, and I am looking forward to visiting ExCel next month to see what happens in the 'real world' of the nail and beauty industry.
Regardless of the foundations of our training it has become obvious to me that more training and updating is required of all of us during our careers, whether we are beginners or professionals.

I did mani and pedi at college in 1988 whilst hairdressing, did a four day star nails course in october 2002, star nails nail art 2004, Essential nail l&p in 2004, converted to Brisa with creative Dec 2004, converted to Creative l&P last year planning on doing fabric and updating my knowledge for natural nails this year.

I think that this training you are referring to is the first one that I did in Manchester for 2 days...it was crap, a complete waste of money!!! Then converted to CND L & P, Brisa and Spa Mani & Pediand by the end of this month will have converted to Fabric# too.

i did a 2 day course but she only gave out the certificate if she thought you were good enough. on my last day she had a girl in doing her 8th set of nails (i did 4 sets) and she started 3 months prior to me but she just wasnt getting the hang of it. not boasting myself up here but i did do gel nails before and i am quite thorough havent done too bad and im doing a conversion course in the summer with nsi.

angela