Any advice on level 3 training?

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ferris1984

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Hello Geeks,

I posted recently about trouble I was having on a VRQ 3 college course. I’ve decided to withdraw from the course & look elsewhere for training, because it doesn’t seem like it will be a good course for me. I originally wanted to do an NVQ 3.

I am NVQ Level 2 qualified (12 units) and I’ve been out of hairdressing for 5 years. I worked in a salon for 6 months after I qualified, then freelance for a bit longer. I didn’t want to stop hairdressing, but circumstances got in the way. Now is a good time to go back & rebuild my career.

I want to do an NVQ 3 course alongside returning to work - I feel I have a solid level 2, but my timings will be slow because I am out of practice! It seems logical to me, to do training alongside work, so I can advance my skills in the best possible way.

I would prefer to work on a self employed basis, happy to work in a salon. I would feel a lot more confident going for a job after starting a course, because then I’ve had a few weeks to get back in the swing of hairdressing & I should have a better idea of what level my skills are at. What I’m finding is that most courses want you to have a job before you apply for a level 3, whether you are level 2 qualified or not. But I’d feel more confident doing it the other way around.

I am considering going to a private training academy (eg. Sassoon or others), to do courses other than a level 3, because they would take me on whether I’m in industry before I apply or not, from what I can see online. It would be expensive but I think could be worth it to give me the update & confidence boost I need.

What do other people think? If it’s a confidence boost I’m looking for, would private training be a good idea? Or is it possible to find level 3 training that would let me start before finding a job?

My intention is to find a job ASAP after starting a course, I just want to start the course first.

Liz
 
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Hi Liz,

College courses are only as good as the individual tutors teaching them so you can sometimes find yourself stuck with a rubbish tutor, and if you can’t change classes then, if it’s very bad, dropping out is the sensible solution.

I can’t recommend the Sassoon courses highly enough. Do their cut and colour courses and you won’t need to bother with level 3. You’ll be far more advanced.
 
Hi Liz,

College courses are only as good as the individual tutors teaching them so you can sometimes find yourself stuck with a rubbish tutor, and if you can’t change classes then, if it’s very bad, dropping out is the sensible solution.

I can’t recommend the Sassoon courses highly enough. Do their cut and colour courses and you won’t need to bother with level 3. You’ll be far more advanced.

Hi AcidPerm! Thank you for this. I can afford Sassoon training and from what I’ve seen online, it looks like great technical training. Which Sassoon courses have you taken? I think I’ve done the right thing removing myself from the course I was on, so thanks for the reassurance. It seemed like it would be wasted time & money.

I would be limited to shorter Sassoon courses I think. London is accessible on the train. I was thinking of taking the ABC cutting, foils, blond and creative short courses. To do all of those would cost roughly the same as a level 3. Do you think these would be enough, or would I need to take a longer course?

My Level 2 tutor warned us a lot about bad hairdressing courses. She was a great tutor, the kind who would draw technical diagrams of cutting angles. She wouldn’t pass our assessments unless they were salon standard. We had a guest tutor also who was Sassoon trained, she was inspiring to watch - both of them seemed to have a really deep & technical understanding of hairdressing. So this is really what I am looking for now, training like this. Those tutors would never turn someone away from a course because they were worried they couldn’t teach them!

If you have any information or advice about Sassoon courses let me know. I would love to hear about your experience with them also.

Liz
 
I am currently teaching on a level 2 vrq and I believe it’s correct than what has been said before! The programme title doesn’t define the quality of it! I’m sure if you’re paying for these college courses yourself have a look around and ask if it’s possible to go on a taster session with the provider! You need to place yourself somewhere you feel you will progress and get relevant industry knowledge! It sounds like you have passion so you need to make sure your getting the best from the course to make sure you don’t lose it xx
 
Not sure what they offer currently, but consider the ABC cutting/Colour courses and then go from there. You don’t have to do everything at once.
 
I am currently teaching on a level 2 vrq and I believe it’s correct than what has been said before! The programme title doesn’t define the quality of it! I’m sure if you’re paying for these college courses yourself have a look around and ask if it’s possible to go on a taster session with the provider! You need to place yourself somewhere you feel you will progress and get relevant industry knowledge! It sounds like you have passion so you need to make sure your getting the best from the course to make sure you don’t lose it xx

Thanks for this - I realise totally that the quality is all tutor dependent (and probably the college as well to some extent). I agree with what you’re suggesting here, better to try before you enrol! I’m thinking if I did a short course at Sassoon (eg. 3 days) then I’d know from that whether I wanted to do more training there or not. I’m finding most colleges I’ve emailed don’t offer taster days, even LAFHAB in Leeds which is a private academy said they don’t do taster days for level 3 courses. Which isn’t very helpful! But I agree with all you are saying.

I do have passion, my circumstances are that I’m a single mum. I’m on a good train route to London & so Sassoon for a few days at a time would be doable. I’m not having much luck with local colleges, and if I have to go far outside of my town then it would make more sense to go to London for a few days then go a shorter distance more long term. But I do have an open mind!
 

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