pre masters

[Northern Nails]

Following on from my previous thread....i was a bit dubious about doing the pre masters as i felt i had covered these subjects in my NVQ.

Well i came back home yesterday having done the class and have to honestly say that in my opinion i think it was a complete waste of money. Everything that we did i covered in my NVQ and more so. This class cost me money which i could have put towards the other master classes.

I agree that this class may be invaluble to anyone who has maybe attended a fast track course or similar...you know the ones. But i feel that there should be some kind of threshold in place stating a certain level of competence should be reached when booking this course.

I travelled 200 miles to attend this class and feel totally ripped off....i'm sorry but that is how i feel, when i contacted leeds i was told that this was a pre-requisite for the master classes. (Never mind if i had proof of doind these in my portfolio + certificate) and must be attended. Although the educator was excellent and i will be going to her for all my master classes i feel that as i had my NVQ this class was no different, it wasn't even as indepth as my NVQ.


Just wanted to let you all know how i got on, and what everyone thinks of this course and what previous knowledge you had previous to attending.

 

[The Geek]

huh - sorry to hear that. We have had superb feedback from everyone that I know of regarding this class (regardless of whether they had NVQ or not). In fact - this is the first negative that I have heard about the class.

The real question is - if you were given a test on the content prior to attending the course... Do you honestly feel you would have aced it? From anatomy to disorders etc...?

Sorry you didnt enjoy - your the first I know of

 

[Northern Nails]

Wether i would have aced it or not on the day is irrelavent, when i did my NVQ 12 months ago i aced it. And this was the same topics covered. I just feel that for some people entering this trade they made not know these. But there are those that do and i think this should be considered when deciding whether this the most suitable class to take.

Lets put it another way....if i hadn't done any NVQ training and covered such things as condra-indications, contra-actions, anatomy, disorders, prep, regulations etc. then you are right this course would have been excellent and exactly what i would have needed. But all those topics i had covered and in more depth when i was at college. I just feel that this class should be tailored to those that haven't that knowledge. And for those that have should prove it and more on to tips and troubleshooting.

At the end of the day we are all here to learn, but when it is costing us at the same time we want it to be worth it. Don't get me wrong i love working with Creative and their training and think my educator is great couldn't help more infact. I just wanted to give a little feedback, did also on the day too, as did the other 2 girls that were there, they didn't feel they benefited either.

I am reluctant to give the name of the trainer because at the end of the day she is just teaching the syllabus....i think she is very good and am planning to do the rest of my masters with her.

Just wondered what others thought about this.

 

[Urban Geek]

Hi Debbie,

Sorry you are so disappointed and upset. I was in exactly the same position as you and have a great respect for the NVQ I received and can understand your frustration.

The problem is that, to date, to achieve an NVQ not all colleges ran to the same high standard as your college or the SAC Centre in my case and, therefore, the NVQ has had little credibility within the nail industry due to the inconsistencies in teaching. Hopefully, now that the new NVQ has been introduced, this will change and perhaps going forward Creative will acknowledge the new NVQ.

I don't feel I wasted money taking the Pre-Masters Class since I hope to one day go on to become a Grand Master and it is a pre-requisite to gaining further Master certificates that I do that class - c'est la vie! Although I had already covered most, if not all, of it in my previous L&P master classes and/or in my NVQ, it did reinforce everything again.

If it is any consolation, at least you know you have been given the best teaching and the correct information from both the NVQ education you received and the Creative teaching and I am sure you will go on to be one of the best!

 

[Northern Nails]

Hi Chris,

thanks for your post, but i think it is just an expensive way to reinforce things...i'm sorry but i could have put that towards my tips and troubleshooting class.

If i was just going to take one class with Creative i wouldn't be that bothered, well i would but...

...but at the end of the day i am wanting to work towards taking all classes in every system. it'll take time i know but eventually it will happen. It just peeves me when you know you are trying to improve your skills and how much it is costing, that you are spending a whole class on things that you have done previous, when it could have been used more constructively

Maybe i am the only one who thinks this? I don't know...

 

[Urban Geek]

I understand what you are saying but I also understand where Creative are coming from. They can't just take everyone's word that they have covered all the necessary aspects when many colleges teaching NVQ had such poor standards. Also, although people may have covered many aspects previously, they may have forgotton. They are protecting their name, trying to have consistency in their standards and that is why they are so highly regarded. I had the choice not to do Creative courses so I am happy to abide by their criteria if I want to do further training with them.

 

[The Geek]

whelp - all I can say is that is far from the norm. Even though the NVQ was based on our course material - there has always been a heavy gap of ability between people that have held the NVQ and their actual ability level.

Regardless - The course was designed to ensure that all particpants in the Master courses are on the same page so that we don't have to cover PREP, Anatomy, Health and safety issues, etc... in subsequent classes (which we used to have to do). Now its all done in one class and leaves us free to focus on the real meat of each element.

 

[Northern Nails]

Yes i understand where you are coming from BUT (you just knew there was going to be one) aren't NVQ's verified by an external verifier? Aren't you given a portfolio of achievement? Obviously if you haven't done any learning for a while this would need to be addressed and maybe a refresher with the pre masters. But i know in my case i did mine 12 months ago and this is not exactly a lifetime ago. I also know that Creative have a rep to keep both with training and products and that is why i am sticking with them but in this case surely there has to be some sort of threshold whereby you may or maynot need to do the pre masters depending on previous learning and when that happend.


Or maybe incorperating the premasters syllabus with either the foundation or conversion.....i don't know

 

[Urban Geek]

Debbie,

There are so many absolutely fabulous nail technicians out there with a wealth of experience, with/without their NVQ who have been in the industry for years, competition winners, etc, and, if they want to further their education with Creative, they too have to do all the necessary classes so ...

 

[The Geek]

We used to accept NVQ as a blanket level of qualification - however we soon discovered the serious lacking in the students ability. Its not really possible to cover information like that in an induction course (some of it is covered at foundation level) as its a day long course. That would make inductions twice as long (and if they had an NVQ wouldnt they have to be doing the same info again as per your dilema?)

The fact is that most lack in the knowledge department regardless of their qualifications when it comes to Pre Masters info. Until that changes as a whole - I dont see any immediate way around it without running a risk of lowering the quality of the education that our Master Artists recieve as a whole.

Hope you understand

 

[Fab Freak]

Hi Debbie

I agree with your points on this and think is an excellent topic from my point of view as I had the exact same concerns about the Pre-Masters as I feel I am well enough educated having qualified in VTCT and don’t have £95 at ready disposal – and certainly not to risk this to go over the same ground and learning very little new if anything at all no disrespect to this workshop.

I understand that Creative will get technicians through their academy who won’t be up to scratch but what about us that are?

I don’t want to appear to be too negative, as I know how much effort DN put into this new programme but you put into this but I really do agree with Debbie.

Plus I don’t like that this is working against the credibility of the NVQ that if a Technician has passed their level 3 that it implies this is not good enough industry qualification to bypass the pre-masters – if that makes sense

On a similar vein I wondered if Creative still accept VTCT or NVQ as an acceptable blanket cover to do a Conversion course or has the new education programme affected this?

 

[buttonmoon]

i done my induction and have vtct's
x

 

[Tilly Ann]

I've done my Pre Masters and even though I understand your points of view I think it was a good class and I really enjoyed it!!


Tilly xx

 

[Northern Nails]

Yes but that doesn't automatically make it right though does it.

If they hadn't been in education for a while and picked up bad habits then yes the pre masters would be beneficial, competition winner or not.

This is where the entrance criteria would come in.

Debbie,

There are so many absolutely fabulous nail technicians out there with a wealth of experience, with/without their NVQ who have been in the industry for years, competition winners, etc, and, if they want to further their education with Creative, they too have to do all the necessary classes so ...

 

[Northern Nails]

Oh yes i know, don't get me wrong Tilly i really enjoyed the class and we had some good discussions but we could have equally had those good discussions anywhere. To those of us that attended the class we feel we didn't benefit although we enjoyed it and felt that we would have benefited more from other classes instead of the pre masters

To be honest at the end of the day it all boils down to those purse strings and wanting to receive education that is appropriate to those paying for it.

I've done my Pre Masters and even though I understand your points of view I think it was a good class and I really enjoyed it!!


Tilly xx

 

[Urban Geek]

Debbie,

Perhaps speak to your ambassador or head office and they may give you credit for another masters class or a 1-2-1 (just a thought). I am sure your ambassador would have realised if you already knew everything that was being tought. There are alternatives companies to Creative which have great reputations too. After hearing all the nightmare experiences of other technicians who spend as much of not more money in getting bad teaching, I feel quite lucky.

Although expensive, I feel lucky to have experienced great teaching and hopefully one day will run a successful and reputable busines from it.

 

[Northern Nails]

Hi Chris,

i spoke to Leeds when i booked and explained my conerns but she just said that it was a pre-requisite to the masters and that it is compulsory. And also that the information was more indepth than my NVQ, so i will be covering more. So i booked, plus there was a lot of positive feedback from this site about it so i thought i should give it a go, but to be totaly honest i was waiting for something extra.

The educator is lovely though but i don't think i will receive a credit for another class to be honest with you. Am looking forward to the tips and troubleshooting class next month, so i will definately be making her work for her supper then....lol