Professional Nails Poll - Education - what are your views?

[Kathryn]

Hi all

I'm doing a big education special for the August issue of Professional Nails and thought it'd be great if I used my usual monthly poll to get some geeky feedback on the current state of education in the industry.

What do you think of the new NVQ, for example? What would you like to see happening in the future with regards to education?

In fact, anything you have to say, please speak up!

I know it's a pretty broad topic, but I really would appreciate your opinions. And as usual, I will be publishing a few of them in the mag, so please include your FULL name and business name to any posts you make. You can also PM me or email me direct at [email protected]

Thanks all so much!

In the meantime - get out and enjoy the sun!

Take care
Kat

Editor
Professional Nails

 

[naturalnails]

Hi Kat,
there have been a few topics along similar lines recently.

I am for education 100% and it should be compulsory - you should not be able to buy enhancement products from ANYONE without viewable proof of "recognised" education and insurance and it should be current - not 10 years old.

Unfortunately I think the NVQ will only ever be as good as the tutor / assessor and their "interpretaion" of the standards. There are some great tutor/assessors but there are also some poor ones.

The one phrase that sticks in my mind is "to have knowledge of" - to one tutor this may mean to merely know that there are 3 systems and to another it may mean that you can actually competently do all 3 systems.

I would also like to see a commitment within all education courses, that you DO NOT SELL professional enhancement products on EBAY!

 

[Fingertips ND]

Hi Kat,

After training at a local college for my VTCT in Manicure and Advanced Nails I felt the need to write a letter of complaint to the college.

Our training wasn't bad but the price was and the prospectus clearly stated that after receiving the qualification you could then go out and get a job or become self employed.

Now some people may disagree with my feelings on this but...

There is no way somebody would employ me just with the qualification I received from college as I didn't teach me half the things I needed to know to become a competent technician.

After signing up for my course and becoming a member on this site I soon realised that I had made a mistake.

Education all the way for every nail technician but personally I feel the training should be done with an acedemy and NOT a college!

 

[debs81]

Hi

I totally agree with Vicky about vtct. I finished my course on thursday and feel it was a waste of time. I wanted to become a mobile tech and eventually have my own salon but with the training i got, i feel i may aswell have bought the books we used and taught myself. Thats basically what we did anyway. Our tutor showed us l+p technique once. That was at the very beginning of the course back in January. I have done one refill which was on thursday night. its not because i haven't practised because i'm always doing bits and bobs in my spare time but haven't been given the support from college that i should have got.

Im now going to pay out again for training with Ezflow hopefully but thats only if i can scrape the money together, plus im going to start at beginner level so i can make sure everything is covered. Feel very annoyed about the topic to be perfectly honest-would have trained at some piont with ezflow probably to get more experience but was hoping it would be higher up the scale!!!

Sorry ive moaned but it really bothers me.

Debs81
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[scattyfox]

Sadly this seems to be the case with FE colleges across the board, they are throwing tutors in at the deep end who are more beauticians than nail technicians and students are following their course books word for word and not being EDUCATED to the correct standards.

This is why I want to be an nail educator in the future and hopefully raise the standard for trainee nail technicians at my local college and make us known for being one of the colleges that does teach you correctly.

I have a long way to go yet but am sure that I will be there in the next few years with the help and support of my fellow geeks.

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

Any Education should be great Education and not just leaving students to feel inadequate after they have finished their course. Students should come away from a course with excitement,wanting to learn more and not bewilderment.A great Education will make a student hungry for more and there is always more.There should be a tighter regulation as to who can educate i.e take money of someone ,issue a bit of paper stating Diploma, promising them that after this 2 day course they are professionals and can go out and earn top money.......Afterall there is nothing stopping me from setting up an Academy, providing a Certificate and take pots of money for this. Is any one going to check my credentials or my ability skill for teaching, my lesson plan or anything else ????
There are so many Technicians out there that feel so let down with the standard of education they have received and that in my view is terrible,because it will not make them hungry for more it will just make them feel that the next step in their education will be just another waste of time and money...You should come away from any educational training wanting to learn more and having the feeling that you have actually learned something rather than thinking " What the heck was that all about!" and "I payed for this???" or "what a waste of money was that"
Make educating body's, no matter how small or how big they are, accountable. Make them prove that they are actually providing the best education possible..........

Ruth Fordham
CND Master Technician
www.nailsinlondon.com

 

[Sassy Hassy]

I think the trouble with FE Colleges is that the beauty courses have become so popular that they cannot get the tutors to meet the demand. This was certainly true of my Cosmetic Makeup course as my tutor was really a hair tutor. She had only done the CM course herself the year before and it showed.

I have not done an FE course for nails and I doubt if I ever would. I would rather be trained by a good Academy who is training with current techniques and products.

The industry is evolving all the time, and I think it really shows in a technician's work if they update their training regularly. It also stirs up a passion to continue to improve and give of your best and not get stale and stagnant and cut corners.

Sarah Haslam, Buff Nails & Beauty, Fareham

 

[scattyfox]

Any Education should be great Education and not just leaving students to feel inadequate after they have finished their course. Students should come away from a course with excitement,wanting to learn more and not bewilderment.A great Education will make a student hungry for more and there is always more.There should be a tighter regulation as to who can educate i.e take money of someone ,issue a bit of paper stating Diploma, promising them that after this 2 day course they are professionals and can go out and earn top money.......Afterall there is nothing stopping me from setting up an Academy, providing a Certificate and take pots of money for this. Is any one going to check my credentials or my ability skill for teaching, my lesson plan or anything else ????
There are so many Technicians out there that feel so let down with the standard of education they have received and that in my view is terrible,because it will not make them hungry for more it will just make them feel that the next step in their education will be just another waste of time and money...You should come away from any educational training wanting to learn more and having the feeling that you have actually learned something rather than thinking " What the heck was that all about!" and "I payed for this???" or "what a waste of money was that"
Make educating body's, no matter how small or how big they are, accountable. Make them prove that they are actually providing the best education possible..........

Ruth Fordham
CND Master Technician
www.nailsinlondon.com

Love it when you get going hun
x

Very eloquent and who can repute what you are saying well done you, can i book you in a few years when I'm a master educator to be a visiting lecturer for my students .x

 

[jacqui]

i would love to be able to an nvq in nail services (never mind the new one), at my local college, but, they dont do them just the full beauty therapy.
have to go a little further afield.

the question i face is, do i train with a professional academy, or go to college and get the nvq.
if there were more positive guidelines on the route into nails it would better for all of us.

i passed a homelearn class, within a year, got insurance and can work with paying clients, yet some people go to college for 2 or 3 years, then they can work on clients.

you cant be an eg. doctor unless you do so many years training and gained certain qualifications, i know its not the same, but the students all know which route to take to get to there chosen profession, there should be certain tests or courses we all have to take, to get into nail services.

 

[claireamy]

To debbie earlier up the thread who is saving to do an EzFlow course....

You will get sooo much from the EzFlow training.
It really is worth every penny, even if it does seem a little expensive to begin with. I did a conversion L&P course to update my skills a bit and use a 'better' product and am now a committed follower! I'm now saving to do more courses with them in the future. Antony Buckley is a true master!
Good luck with your training.

 

[debs81]

To debbie earlier up the thread who is saving to do an EzFlow course....

You will get sooo much from the EzFlow training.
It really is worth every penny, even if it does seem a little expensive to begin with. I did a conversion L&P course to update my skills a bit and use a 'better' product and am now a committed follower! I'm now saving to do more courses with them in the future. Antony Buckley is a true master!
Good luck with your training.

Thanks hon, i'm selling my car not just for the course but for other reasons too and the money left over is hopefully going to fund my training with Caroline Hickey. I spoke to her yesterday and im so inspired. I just wish i'd done this first thats all.

Debs81 xxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Just Jo]

I first did my foundation training with one company and was not disatisfied with it but I certainly came away wanting more and feeling quite muddled, because I felt no way competent enough to just start my business up at that point but I didnt know where to go or what I should be doing. I could of just gone out and started doing nails and charging but then I would have become one of those shoddy technicians that unfortunately we see too often.

I was going to go to college to do the nail courses, beginning with manicure and pedicure then enhancements followed by nail art but after going and having a look around and talking to the tutor they were unsure whether the courses would even go to the end due to lack of numbers and tutors etc

At the same time I came accross The Nail Geek site and was truly inspired by Samantha so I decided to go with Creative. I did the Spa Manicure course and L&P Conversion with Creative and have since followed it up with training with Antony Buckley & EZFlow. In my opinion these companies offer the standards that every aspiring nail technician would want - they are professional, passionate about their product and the teaching is superb. You certainly come away still wanting more but this time because you know that they are succeeding in helping you become a damned good tech! They help you all the way with excellent support and advise you which courses to follow up with that are going to improve your skills and you never feel that they have just taken your money and dished you up a certificate.

I can not say anything about the nvq or what it entails as I have had no experience of it. I do believe the way forward though is through the best education and I guess that is the hard part because when you are a complete novice you do not know whether the company you are paying to train you is any good until you have done it! So I think there should be much stricter and higher standards from many of the shoddy educators that there are out there ... you only have to read the horror stories on this site to know how many crappy training schools there are.

At the moment there are no set guidelines - that I know of anyway - to becoming a nail technician. I think that if there were then maybe some of us would of saved a lot of money and got excellent education from day 1.

:hug: Jo xxxx :hug:

 

[smiler13334]

The new NVQ is a long time coming, enabling a nail technician to get a full qualification. It would be fantastic if all courses and colleges offering this had the exact same teaching methods. Unfortunately some can be slack and leave you feeling like you dont really deserve it.

Nail technicians that have completed the 'old' units probably feel like they have been duped due to the amount of money it cost in the first place only to find out that the qualification they worked for is not a full one but units of it. Are they able to complete the rest of the units to get a complete NVQ and at what cost?

Education is by far the greatest buzz for anyone - if they enjoy what they do. Having regular training through out our careers is an absolute must and it allows you to spread your wings and take in everything, learn better ways of doing a service and seeking our own levels of perfection.

Knowledge is Power
Power gives confidence
confidence seeks knowledge.

Take care

 

[Mrs Geek]

In order to teach Beauty Therapy at college, the lecturer must be fully qualified in all areas of beauty - infact there seems to be few to little problems regarding the quality and standard of beauty training within the college arena!

Then we get to nails!!!
Let's face it and let's be TOTALLY honest here... beauty therapists in general consider themselves far superior than the nail technicians. One might say "and why shouldn't they?" they have to do far more training than most nail teks. I don't think the majority of lecturers like teaching nails at all - I think they do because they have to...the majority have NEVER worked in a salon doing nails and don't have the first clue as to how a seriously beautiful enhancement is applied.

Most college trainers must think that to teach the art of nail technology is on par to learning how to wash up well. After all, many lecturers feel that ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS A FOUNDATION COURSE IN NAIL ENHANCEMENTS TO KNOW 'HOW' to teach them in college!! This I have experienced first hand when a college in Wales sent 5 trainers on (what was then a three day foundation course) so they could back into college and teach students!! I MEAN PLEASE!!!!!

THAT is why some company training is of such a better standard!! Who knows products better than the company distributing them, better than the companies that have spent years researching and developing the products that they are teaching with?? - Of course that is providing they believe in training in the first place which the majority do not which is why Jo Public can still buy products!

Why would college trainers start off teaching nail tek classes in college with the line 'nail extensions ruin natural nails' if they were serious about inspiring their students in the art of nail technology - what kind of introduction is that??? and why???? because they themselves may not KNOW how to apply an enhancement without ruining natural nails!

The TWO TIMES PB Award Winning Creative Nail Academies get more dissatisfied and upset students coming to them from colleges because they come out knowing diddly squat about how to truly create a nail enhancement - and why... because MOST (not all) college trainers in the world of nails DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO NAILS....

Before everyone screams at me, of course I am aware that there are plenty of teachers in college that do a decent job BUT THEY ARE SUCH A MINORITY IN THIS FIELD! We also know that lecturers have a quota to fill and students MUST BE PASSED come what may!!!

So my conclusion is that until the teachers in college actually know how to do nails as well as beauty - don't try teaching it. Secondly my belief that nails should NOT be part of beauty but more on par with the hair industry still stands. Thirdly - until this changes - it doesn't matter what's in the NVQ!!!

 

[beverley b]

Hi Kat,
I agree that many colleges need to raise the standards in nail technology. However, there are some good ones! If you look around the country there are quite a few colleges not delivering the N.V.Q. in Nail Services. I believe this is for two reasons:

Firstly, the 'bums on seats' senario, quick self-financing courses bring in a lot of revenue over the college year and I can apprieciate that colleges need to make money to survive. However, there are other ways to do this without compromising standards. Continued proffessional development courses that are self-financed could be one way.

The other reason is that there is a skills shortage in the industry and many people just don't have the qualifications or experience to teach this area. This 'skills shortage' had been identified by HABIA and is currently being tackled.

When the new standards came out for N.V.Q. Nail Services I made the decision as programme manager to drop the V.T.C.T. courses we were running as I felt I had so much more to teach but didn't have the time in the short courses to teach it which was very frustrating for me.

I agree with Sam that 'pass rates' are very important to colleges because of the funding they get, but to tackle this I have put in place an interview process that enables me to select appropraite canidates for the course which does help.

This past month has been extremely stressful for F.E. as the governement/L.S.C. has pulled the funding for adult courses at level 3 and for any students who have undertaken a level 2 course in other sujects also have to pay for additional level 2 qualifications. In the end I have found that this has had a positive effect as the students who really want a qualification will pay for it. Until now adult-up-date courses have been free regardless of status. Many have done courses because they are free and not because they really care about the industry. At least now students will be dedicated to their studies.

The standards in the new N.V.Q. in Nail Services is so high, covering areas such as sales, reception and business studies as well as the practical areas. I see this as the whole package.

The other change I have noticed this year is how many nail companies are working with the colleges, for example, coming in to do workshop days. This is a great way to introduce students to their products at a 'grass roots level'. These students after all are their future business!

I think the industry should work together so the colleges and training providers know exactly what the industry needs, this is one of the aims of the HABIA Nail Servies Forum.

As I'm sure you know, you never stop learning in this industry, that's why I love it!

Kind regards.

Bev B
Wigan & Leigh College
(Habia Nail Services Forum)

P.S. Kat, I can e-mail you some photos of the college and our nail studio so you can see how serious we are about nails!