Lots of nail bars closing down - worried !

[geeg]

The fact is, that there IS a national standard in the UK and it is the NVQ ... problem is, it is not mandatory to have this certificate to become a nail technician.

Other problem is that although we say NVQ is the standard qualification, it is also only the minimum qualification needed.

Other problem is, the people who teach this standard vary wildly in their ability both to teach it, and to assess the standard so the so called standard is NOT standard and also varies wildly.

Company training given by the best companies is usually much more comprehensive and ultimately the standard of work by the students who are company trained is much better than college training .... this is not true of every college, but as a general statement it is true.

 

[kadie]

this is a great thread and i just wanted to add my view. I think you need to be more than a good nail tech to be a good business person. you may be the best tech in the world but you might be really poo at your accounts. marketing, advertising, customer service, retail lines, stock replenishment, tax returns and all that jazz need to be taken into account. These things are paramount to any businesses success. You also need reliable and trustworthy staff that are good at their job and i think need to know what's going on on the business side of things (well to a certain extent). I think that when everyone feels involved they take more responsibility etc.

Also, Gigi you mentioned the NVQ. Do you think this will become mandatory and those of us who already have qualifications and experience, will we have to go on these too? or can we continue to go on the courses that we are already on. The IHBC and the cibtac qualifications...are they equivilant to an NVQ?

 

[geeg]

Also, Gigi you mentioned the NVQ. Do you think this will become mandatory and those of us who already have qualifications and experience, will we have to go on these too? or can we continue to go on the courses that we are already on. The IHBC and the cibtac qualifications...are they equivalent to an NVQ?

Lets put it this way ... I think you will be old and grey before you have to worry about it.

BUT say it happened tomorrow ... they can't put people who are already working and have a business out of work because they don't hold a certain certificate!! You would be given a certain amount of time to bring yourself up to date and to gain the papers you needed.

It would be pretty simple to gain the qualification because as I said
The NVQ is proof that you have the minimum amount of knowledge to practice nails. It is not anything like as high a qualification as say the Creative Master Nail Technician.

 

[jac extreme]

I am going to be really honest here and say that I think I am a good nail tech (always room for improvement) but I think I would be a lousy salon owner, I would probably run myself into debt within a few months, I love doing nails and I hate doing paperwork, so i would never be able to have my own salon unless I went in with some one with a good buisness head.

I never took the managers position that I was offered in New York city nails in Debenhams as it mainly involved sorting rotas and retailing and I just want to enhance, I have spent a lot of money on training, not as Cec said just to get a diploma to hang on my wall but to continue with my education in this ever evolving industry, does that mean that I am not professional.

 

[Cathie!]

I am going to be really honest here and say that I think I am a good nail tech (always room for improvement) but I think I would be a lousy salon owner, I would probably run myself into debt within a few months, I love doing nails and I hate doing paperwork, so i would never be able to have my own salon unless I went in with some one with a good buisness head.

I never took the managers position that I was offered in New York city nails in Debenhams as it mainly involved sorting rotas and retailing and I just want to enhance, I have spent a lot of money on training, not as Cec said just to get a diploma to hang on my wall but to continue with my education in this ever evolving industry, does that mean that I am not professional.

Honesty is good Jac and you damn well know that you are a great tech and professional with it.....I think that most of the people who come to this site are people who have a real passion for nails and want to be the best at what they do (like me) and are definately professional, whether salon based, home based, mobile or renters!

 

[Snugglepuss]

Honesty is good Jac and you damn well know that you are a great tech and professional with it.....I think that most of the people who come to this site are people who have a real passion for nails and want to be the best at what they do (like me) and are definately professional, whether salon based, home based, mobile or renters!

I agree with you 100% Cathie:hug: I am home based and joined this site to learn and share my passion for nails - all you fab geeks have taught me so much over the past few months and I hope to be as good as you all in the future. I will go on more courses for two reasons at least - First because I enjoy learning and there's always plenty of new concepts to be learnt and also because I enjoy being involved with other nail geeks who enjoy learning - they are really good fun:green: I don't have any of my certificates on my wall but they are close to hand if anyone ever wanted to see them:green: