Is this woman qualified to teach?

[Violets/Ruperts]

I feel like having a rant to get some annoyances out of my system.

Over the past year or so I have been teaching myself how to do acrylics, and before anyone jumps on this, I have not been charging or practicing on paying clients.
I finally felt confident enough with my techniques recently, so booked myself onto a one day course so I could get my certificate and thus get insurance, yadda yadda yadda...

So...
I turn up for my course 15 minutes early (punctuality is very important). I wait outside until they open the doors (9.45). Then wait indoors for another 15 minutes for the class to start. At 10 we go into the classroom and are kept waiting for 30 minutes! for the teacher.
The first thing she tells us: don't man handle the training hands - you break them you buy me a new one. Ok, fair enough, equipment is costly.
She rambles about processes for a while then shows us how to prep a nail and apply tips correctly. I ask about using forms, she tries to give an example of how they fit, can't do it, so proceeds to tell me they are only for extremely experienced technicians and I shouldn't bother trying. Lunch break.

After the lunch break we come back to the classroom and get on with practising buffing down our tips. No sign of the teacher for an hour. She finally comes in to start showing us how to apply acrylic.
Note: half the girls in the class still don't know if they have filed correctly.
Again we are told that if we ruin her brushes we buy her new ones. Fair enough, but at this point I am beginning to wonder if she is aware she is teaching a beginners acrylics course, let alone running a teaching business...

She demonstrates liquid and powder application, no explanations to what size bead or how to get it or even what consistency! I ask her what size brush she is using - no idea. I ask why the acrylic needs to be even across the free edge - no idea. She tells us we need to have a curve across the top of the nail yet cannot explain what it's called or why it's there.

This is all getting a little frustrating at this point, but the cherry of my day was getting told off for "using too much liquid". I wanted to turn around and say 'what is wrong with you??????!!! You are teaching a class in acrylics yet know nothing about the process except how to do it. You are pushing a brand on us yet won't even let us use the products???'

Now you may ask why did I pick this awful one day course, firstly for the sake of certification but secondly, the thing that amazes me most!, it was advertised and is endorsed by The Guild!
What an absolutely shocking day. Every other course I have attended has been through a government college with ITEC, so I know exactly what standard of education I will be getting. Then from that, thinking that my insurance company, The Guild, is a reputable business, and would have the same standards is a reasonable deduction.
At the end of it all, I just feel sorry for the other girls on the course and the poor, unsuspecting members of the general public who might now be being tortured by incompetent technicians.

Ugh. End of rant. Take from this what you will.

 

[ssuk]

she may be qualified to train. doesnt mean she is any good.

i would write a comaint to the company, including the questions she could not answer. also request a copy of the course objectives and lesson plans.

send a copy of the letter to the guild.

check the course met the objective they send you. if not comain to trading standards.

sounds like she was not qualified in nails, let alone training.

as for breaking the hand. ur students, it happens and she should be insured.

sounds like uv all been 'had'

Sent from my GT-S5830i using SalonGeek

 

[chillysquibbles]

I hear you! a few months back i went with my mum who was training to do acrylics and gels - and i was absolutely appalled by the standard of teaching - the woman was very nice and all but spent alot of time on fb trying to find salon geek on there to get the name of a product didnt instruct her really at all in the application of the product - the top coat was rimmel! i thought it was a utter waste of money tbh and my mum has done so well teaching herself from youtube now cause she couldnt afford another course - like you my training is with itec and hcd dublin - and their standard of training is very very high - i still email them from time to time with queries about my knowledge base and for tips dealing with certain injuries and conditions. They even think the itec training is below par! and are very dedicated to their standards, ive done a day course in indian head massage after doing my holistic massage and certificate in treating myofascial trigger points and found the day course incredibly lacking - like you i was there alongside some total beginners! they left not knowing half the strokes, and contraindications not even discussed, the instructor although nice couldnt even tell me what muscles she was working on in the upper arm. I think its very easy to provide these "training" courses for people its a easy buck - but they're unleashing a whole load of poorly educated and trained therapists onto the general public!

 

[Violets/Ruperts]

I think it was her company, to be honest she scared me a LOT. I'm a fan of whinging but when it comes down to the actually being pro-active, rather than confronting the person, I'd rather just go above their heads and sort the problem with a more authoritative source.

If I hadn't previously studied acrylics from books, the internet and practiced, and decided to jump in with this course, I'd be in trouble. I would not trust one of those people on my course to do my nails. Which is a great shame as they were nice girls and yes as you said - they've been 'had'.

 

[Violets/Ruperts]

I think its very easy to provide these "training" courses for people its a easy buck - but they're unleashing a whole load of poorly educated and trained therapists onto the general public!

I totally agree, this woman had made a good £600 or more in just one day. With that money I'm sure she could have afforded to buy 30 or 40 new acrylic brushes!
It's not great that these shoddily trained people are now able to gain insurance, perform on the public and accept money for the treatment. They may hurt someone, but it's not an issue - they have INSURANCE!!

 

[Leely]

Where did you hear about this "training" was it through the guild or through a Internet search?

If you found this through the guild website maybe email them and let them know of your experience. Do you know anyone else that has been "trained" with this company or have you read any reviews etc? xx

 

[Violets/Ruperts]

Where did you hear about this "training" was it through the guild or through a Internet search?

If you found this through the guild website maybe email them and let them know of your experience. Do you know anyone else that has been "trained" with this company or have you read any reviews etc? xx

I searched through the Guild website, they have a section on training. I'm not really aware of anyone else who's used this school as it was in an area I have just moved to. I tried to find reviews but there's nothing on any site.
I'm definitely going to be speaking to The Guild, at the bottom of my certificate there is a Guild logo and a registration number..

 

['chelle]

I'm not saying that it's justifiable for the course to be poor quality, but this is generally what you get when you opt for a one day training course. You have said the tutors skills and knowledge were poor, but you've been teaching yourself prior to this course with no qualifications whatsoever!! If you're planning to become a nail tech its a really bad idea to try and teach yourself, seeing it done and doing it yourself are totally different, and you end up getting into bad habits.

I would write that course off as money wasted if I were you and invest in a more reputable training course. Not only for your own benefit but look at it from your clients point of view; if you went to a salon and they were asking for salon prices for a treatment you would expect the tech to have a good standard of education, if the tech was self taught, except for a one day course done just as a formality would you still be happy to pay salon prices for that treatment?

 

[Tomme]

I'm not saying that it's justifiable for the course to be poor quality, but this is generally what you get when you opt for a one day training course. You have said the tutors skills and knowledge were poor, but you've been teaching yourself prior to this course with no qualifications whatsoever!! If you're planning to become a nail tech its a really bad idea to try and teach yourself, seeing it done and doing it yourself are totally different, and you end up getting into bad habits.

I would write that course off as money wasted if I were you and invest in a more reputable training course. Not only for your own benefit but look at it from your clients point of view; if you went to a salon and they were asking for salon prices for a treatment you would expect the tech to have a good standard of education, if the tech was self taught, except for a one day course done just as a formality would you still be happy to pay salon prices for that treatment?

Agreed, there is a similar situation in the hair industry, too many extensionists without the background of hair other than having some on their head who have done a one day course, recommend product to use that completely undermines what a hairdresser has said and these clients trust that this person knows the ins and outs of hair so are recommending good care (and usually follow it because it's cheaper than what a stylist has said)
Then there's the mess's they make when "blending in" it's a complete mess when the hair is removed xoxo

 

[Violets/Ruperts]

I'm not saying that it's justifiable for the course to be poor quality, but this is generally what you get when you opt for a one day training course. You have said the tutors skills and knowledge were poor, but you've been teaching yourself prior to this course with no qualifications whatsoever!! If you're planning to become a nail tech its a really bad idea to try and teach yourself, seeing it done and doing it yourself are totally different, and you end up getting into bad habits.

I am in-fact qualified as a nail technician, prior to this course, I did not have the acrylic qualification. I passed top of my class in all aspects of the nail course, I have a great deal of passion for my subject, hence, I feel I am as capable as anyone else of not picking up bad habits, and have the drive to seek out the best information I can.
I spent a good 6 months just researching acrylic nails before I ever picked up a brush. I then spent a year practicing at every opportunity on plastic/blue tac hands and real peoples hands.
I decided to take the plunge to get my official qualification and ended up being very disappointed with the standards of an apparently reputable company. That is my issue. I worked very hard to get where I am, and then to have it thrown back in my face by sheer disappointment and a realisation that no matter how hard any of us work there will always be people like this. It was more of a reality shock.

 

[xsammi82x]

I am in-fact qualified as a nail technician, prior to this course, I did not have the acrylic qualification. I passed top of my class in all aspects of the nail course, I have a great deal of passion for my subject, hence, I feel I am as capable as anyone else of not picking up bad habits, and have the drive to seek out the best information I can.
I spent a good 6 months just researching acrylic nails before I ever picked up a brush. I then spent a year practicing at every opportunity on plastic/blue tac hands and real peoples hands.
I decided to take the plunge to get my official qualification and ended up being very disappointed with the standards of an apparently reputable company. That is my issue. I worked very hard to get where I am, and then to have it thrown back in my face by sheer disappointment and a realisation that no matter how hard any of us work there will always be people like this. It was more of a reality shock.

The things is, you have no one to tell you how to hold your brush correctly or how the correct mix ratio feels so you are going to pick up bad habits of you like it or not.

I was the same as you. I messed around with liquid and powder for a great deal of time, researched until I thought I had an above average knowledge of nails and then booked myself into a CND course which showed me that I knew very little!

When you search on the Internet, you come across many things that are myths and hearsay. You are about to embark on a career, make the right choice and change the path you are on. The one you have chosen will be a struggle.

I wish you the best of luck xxx