Nail training at college

[Peter Pan]

I had a client come in today for a full set, while we we chatting,she told me that she was at college doing her level 3 beauty course, and was at present doing the nails module. Anyway as I was prepping her nails etc, she said "oooh they dont teach us that at college", I was quite taken aback by it and said "but prep is paramount, you SHOULD be taught it", then went into cnd mode, and ranted on about lifting etc if you dont prep the nails correctly.

I asked her what system they were using and she said "oh just acrylic", (typical i thought), so i went thro a few brands and it came down to "the EDGE" that she uses, and she said they use a "light thing" to put the hands in when they finished the nails (for both l/p and gel), but "when i do the gels, and put them in the lamp, i can wipe it all back off the nail when i take the hand out the lamp". ive told her this is probs due to the lamps "life" fading and that she will need new bulbs.

This got me wondering: just how many colleges are teaching "nails" without prep etc.. no wonder these girls are coming out of college THINKING they are trained, when in fact they are not. And as for the gel lamp not working to full capacity, wouldnt you think the tutor would say something about it, if the student has done a set of gels for an assessment and the gel has been wiped off (after supposedly been cured)!!!

 

[dee]

i can remember being a model for a girl at college for a set of nails and i was horrified, the teaching was really quite bad, hence why i havent ever bothered doing any nail courses at college :lol:

 

[~Emmsybabes~]

I didn't learn half of the stuff in college that I think I should have, now I know better,
My tutor was great, enthusiastic to those who showed enthusiasm ...
But the information needed to actually pass was very minimal imo.

As for the lamp not working properly, that I can totally relate to,
When I was doing waxing in college, there wasn't enough wax pots to go around, so we would have to literally sit and chat while waiting for someone else to finish with the pot,
The pots were filthy I wasn't too impressed, I debated on whether to just take in my own..
Turns out I never stayed on to get the chance to.

Without my college course I'd never have got into nails at all, So I am glad I went,

But I am even more glad that I found this site within my first few weeks of college, Or god only knows what I would be doing to poor clients nails by now. and probably thinking I was doing a good job too

 

[keeleydee]

I agree that some of the teaching standards with regards to nails at college are very out dated, i teach nail technology at a local college which i absolutely love, being very industry based myself i teach very thoroughly including prep which i continually bang on at my students about. Some colleges unfortunately are very stuck in their ways and the products they use are horrific, lucky for me, my line manager is open to change and is always keen to hear from me how things are changing in the industry and she is keen to keep up, hence a change in a lot of things since i have been there, it would be great if more of us industry trained technicians were educators in colleges, then we could end the old fashioned ways xxxx

 

[pips]

Could it be that the gel they are using is the type where after curing you have to wipe of the sticky residue? And this is what she means by saying it wipes straight back off?

I only ask as befoe i got into nails & beauty i used to model for a girl and she thought that it was wiping back off but it was only the sticky residue.

I was also appauled at the little teaching this girl had got in college looking back to what i was taught.

 

[del3]

Collage TRAINING...is that what it is called???

My collage training went a bit like this...
Prep consisted of CUTTING any excess cuticle away and a quick dehydrate of the nail plate with acetone this is all without softening the cuticle or cleaning the plate with any tools.( I didn't know what to do with these until I saw something on this site)

The products we used depended on availability....i.e....if there was no product A monomer left to go with powder A we used monomer B.......but allways told never to mix products...... when I pointed out that this was mixing products I was told to be quiet ..... how confusing :irked:

Yes we were told never to use 100 grit on natural nail...but we were told that 180 was used for EVERYTHING else.

We were never told the different grit numbers or what they ment!!
I am ashamed to say I didn't know that a white buffing block was 240 until I asked at a show

We were never shown anything beyond buffing down witha white block....slapping on some cutilce oil was the collage's idea of giving the nail some shine!

We were not taught how to use nail forms because ''we didn't need it for assesment''....and any way we could get away with not learning how to sculpt because ''tipping did evrybody''

Yes I have got my NVQ but I can honestly say, apart form being handy to get insurance, I feel it doesn't mean a damnd thing!!!

I feel, even with my qualification, that I am the dreaded 'self taught' as I have learnt more since leaving collage by reading books,this site and trial and error!!!

There may be some good collage courses out there but after my experience I could NEVER recomed to anyone that this is the best route to use.All I can say is thank goodness I didn't have to pay for it as I was allready doing a full time course in beauty in the same collage, but it was a very different story for others on the same course.
xx:hug:xx

 

[bubbabinks]

I'm not disagreeing with anyone here but my personal experience was so different to many of you and I feel so lucky having read your posts.

We were taught nipping was not good and to avoid doing it if possible.
We were taught how to prep however I was still not very good at it until I read Geeg's tutorial on perfect prep.
I found my tutor had time for everyone and was very good.

However the course is only for so long with a room full of however many people with some demanding more attention then others.
This is in no way an excuse for your experiences just a point of view.
Learning does not end when the course does be it NVQ, private, etc...
every time we do a set of nails we should strive to learn something new from it.

Finding this site has been a lifesaver for me, it has helped fill in the blanks that the course did not cover intentionally or unintentionally.
Through this site I have found the confidence to believe in myself, believe that I can do nails professionally.

Just because I went to college and got an NVQ doesn't make me any less the professional then other techs.
I know that this was only the beginning of my learning, I plan to go onto another course to help hone my skills but it was a good start for me.

 

[bubbabinks]

I forgot to add that with The Edge gels it has a stickey layer that you wipe off after being in the UV lamp, so I think she may have been confused.

 

[Peter Pan]

Just because I went to college and got an NVQ doesn't make me any less the professional then other techs.

what i actually said was " when most students come out of college they THINK they QUALIFIED - and they are not - no one mentioned about being profesional flower -

profesionalism comes from within - you either got it or you aint - im not knocking any students that are professional within their treatments - what im on about is the way 18/19 year old students come out of college and think they are "GEEG"- there wasnt any mallice in this thread meant to anyone

 

[Peter Pan]

I agree that some of the teaching standards with regards to nails at college are very out dated, i teach nail technology at a local college which i absolutely love, being very industry based myself i teach very thoroughly including prep which i continually bang on at my students about. Some colleges unfortunately are very stuck in their ways and the products they use are horrific, lucky for me, my line manager is open to change and is always keen to hear from me how things are changing in the industry and she is keen to keep up, hence a change in a lot of things since i have been there, it would be great if more of us industry trained technicians were educators in colleges, then we could end the old fashioned ways xxxx

i wasn't saying all colleges were like this, but i thought to myself - wouldn't you think that colleges would want to be recognized for their teaching - the one that this client went to obviously dont care - seems like numbers are more important and in my book - that is wrong - hence why i went on to cnd

 

[* Helen *]

My college experience was pretty much the same ... the students were using star nails or anything they got their hands on & the tutor wasn't converted to the products.

I remember asking what the method was for applying the star nails gel as there is two gels ... and she said she didnt know and apply it and see which one looks better!!

The assessor used a 100 grit file to blend a tip and went through to the clients nail bed.

Acetone was used to dehydrate the nail bed, was taught to cut the nail bed.

I had been taught more in my one day CND conversion than a six months college course!!

 

[sparklybits]

In my humble opinion......

I teach in a local college and the girls/boys I teach are very lucky they have someone who sleeps, breaths, eats, walks and talks nails.

As keely has already said unfortunately this is not the case in every college but hopefully one day things will be different were you need to be experinced nail tech to teach the subject.

What you do have to remember that some of the teachers are all rounders and may not have done a set of nails in a long time but be wonderful at massage. I know that these ladies have a very hard job and take a lot of unnecessary back lash.

Instead of being on their cases we sould be trying to educate the college's and the lovely people at NVQ, SVQ etc on the new technology and updating the current course structure, and maybe then we will start to see a change.

With the introduction of experienced staff members to teach in the nail classes, know that what I have said may bo be every ones cup of tea but I also know from experience that I have told or shown a class something then they have gone and told another teacher that they were never shown this or that. (mmmmmm) little white fib.

So please ladies and gent can we give our college staff support and not bring them down at every turn . These people work very hard teaching students and being up all hours of the night marking to ensure that we have beauty therapist/nail techs of the future.

In my humble opinion.......

 

[Peter Pan]

In my humble opinion......

I teach in a local college and the girls/boys I teach are very lucky they have someone who sleeps, breaths, eats, walks and talks nails.

As keely has already said unfortunately this is not the case in every college but hopefully one day things will be different were you need to be experinced nail tech to teach the subject.

What you do have to remember that some of the teachers are all rounders and may not have done a set of nails in a long time but be wonderful at massage. I know that these ladies have a very hard job and take a lot of unnecessary back lash.

Instead of being on their cases we sould be trying to educate the college's and the lovely people at NVQ, SVQ etc on the new technology and updating the current course structure, and maybe then we will start to see a change.

With the introduction of experienced staff members to teach in the nail classes, know that what I have said may bo be every ones cup of tea but I also know from experience that I have told or shown a class something then they have gone and told another teacher that they were never shown this or that. (mmmmmm) little white fib.

So please ladies and gent can we give our college staff support and not bring them down at every turn . These people work very hard teaching students and being up all hours of the night marking to ensure that we have beauty therapist/nail techs of the future.

In my humble opinion.......

Hi Tracey

I wasn't aiming anything at anyone flower, I was just shocked that the level of education (nails) was so low, i was only going on what this student had told me thats all and i know not all colleges are the same.

I applaud you for being a tutor with a high standard of teaching, its just a shame there are not many more...
:hug:

 

[sparklybits]

Glynis

I agree ith you honey that not all college's have this level of teaching in the nail technology and only wish they did.

And my main point was that not all students tell the story how it happens.

Having been on the receiving side when a student has told another teacher that they were not show something when infact they had been shown.

Sometimes students are little monkey and play one teacher of against the other (tell mummy one story then go tell daddy another).

 

[Joannesnails]

My friend went to our local college to train to be a nail tech and after a year or so of learning she come out of that with no knowledge what so ever and she didnt end up having a career out of it either. It just shows college's arent as good as some people think they are. xx

 

[keeleydee]

In my humble opinion......

I teach in a local college and the girls/boys I teach are very lucky they have someone who sleeps, breaths, eats, walks and talks nails.

As keely has already said unfortunately this is not the case in every college but hopefully one day things will be different were you need to be experinced nail tech to teach the subject.

What you do have to remember that some of the teachers are all rounders and may not have done a set of nails in a long time but be wonderful at massage. I know that these ladies have a very hard job and take a lot of unnecessary back lash.

Instead of being on their cases we sould be trying to educate the college's and the lovely people at NVQ, SVQ etc on the new technology and updating the current course structure, and maybe then we will start to see a change.

With the introduction of experienced staff members to teach in the nail classes, know that what I have said may bo be every ones cup of tea but I also know from experience that I have told or shown a class something then they have gone and told another teacher that they were never shown this or that. (mmmmmm) little white fib.

So please ladies and gent can we give our college staff support and not bring them down at every turn . These people work very hard teaching students and being up all hours of the night marking to ensure that we have beauty therapist/nail techs of the future.

In my humble opinion.......

beautifully said, i agree, its very hard work being a college tutor, and no hard feelings to peter pan, nobody is offended, in fact i agree with what you said and i have many students that have done other college courses and were so disapointed at various things that did or didnt happen, what shocked me the most is that these girls had never even been taught how to polish nails correctly or to hold the polish bottle in their hand at the same time as painting, yikes!! surely this is a bog standard procedure to teach the students in manicure and pedicure?? scary, but anyway, at least i am doing my best to make a difference in my department x

 

[Joannesnails]

Dont get my wrong not all college tutors are not upto standards and it must be extremely hard but i think there are a few out there that could up their standards a bit.

I also would like to add that its not the beauty teacher thats trainings fault that some things are not covered and they dont show off better products its the actual college.. so really lets not put down the college tutors because they are just doing their job and teaching what they have been told to teach. Because im sure if they had it their way they would be adding those little extras in and using better products xx

 

[Lellipop]

I agree that some college Tutors are not the best but others are fantastic but isn't this the case with all training courses I mean some of the private courses are awful and not worth doing in my opinion. Everyone has a choice to which path they choose but I think questions need to be asked and plenty of research done before embarking with any training whether college or private based.

 

[bubbabinks]

Just because I went to college and got an NVQ doesn't make me any less the professional then other techs.

what i actually said was " when most students come out of college they THINK they QUALIFIED - and they are not - no one mentioned about being profesional flower -

profesionalism comes from within - you either got it or you aint - im not knocking any students that are professional within their treatments - what im on about is the way 18/19 year old students come out of college and think they are "GEEG"- there wasnt any mallice in this thread meant to anyone

I agree with you hun that's what I was trying to say but not as eloquently as you. It wasn't aimed at you I just meant that I personally feel that yes I am professional and in a sense qualified, but I am aware that I have a long way to go before I will be anywhere nearly qualified or talented as some of you guys.
That's why I plan to take the basic training I had with the college and further it with another company.

 

[tracey louise]

seeing this thread just made me appreciate who my college teacher was even more.i really enjoyed doing my course and i cant wait to do more with her.
its just sad that other people are missing out because they are not being taught properly.the girl that glynis was takling about will realise her problems later on and hopefully decide to get more training if she still wants to nails aswell as beauty.