Training Providers - should they be more responsible?

[Sassy Hassy]

Never one to shy away from controversy a couple of threads have raised a salient point that is now bugging me which is this ...

Are training providers too quick to put you on a foundation training course without explaining the full implications of the road ahead?

If you think about it, the standards we are aiming for are based at NVQ level 3. Now at college in hair and beauty, this takes you 3 years of studying to achieve. So it's not surprising that people are daunted after a short course and wonder why they can't produce a stunning set in 90 minutes. These courses give you the basics to start practicing and practicing. But the training providers don't make it clear before you book your foundation course that more training will be needed, or do they? I may be wrong!!

There are so many poor quality technicians out there, but is it partly because they have been given their "certificate" and now they feel qualified? My daughter has just done her first 2 days training (and I'm not going to say who with), she now has a "certificate of attendance" saying "Natalie Haslam has successfully completed the ****** Foundation Gel Seminar and is qualified to use ******** gels". See they are even telling her she is qualified, AND SHE PLAINLY ISN'T!!

So when you make your initial enquiry with a Company, should the customer service people from any establishment providing a short course be fully explaining the TRUE cost of being a properly qualified and profesional nail technician? Shouldn't they explain that to be truly professional that you will need to carry onwith regular training at more expense. I know there will always be those that think they can cut corners and not listen to advice given and not take further training, but so many people genuinely believe that a 4 day course makes them a nail tech and then are shocked when they are told there is further learning involved to overcome the problems they are experiencing? I'm not tarring all places with the same brush here, but with so many bad techs bringing our industry down shouldn't these Companies be behaving more responsibly?

Just a thought or two to whet your whistle!!

 

[Urban Geek]

I totally agree Sassy. Those of us who love the industry would have still pursued our dream and all the training necessary to achieve our goals. However, I am sure that a lot of technicians wouldn't have started down the road had they been made fully aware of what they will achieve on their courses. I must admit though, all my certificates for courses were 'attendance' certificates until I achieved my NVQ Unit 19 Level 3 Certificate (still awaited even though I completed in March!!!) and my Creative Masters Certificate.

I am sure a lot of companies don't highlight that their courses just teach the mere basics and that it takes intensive training to achieve full competency because they would no doubt lose business.

To be skilled at any craft takes intensive training, experience and professionalism, all of which take time, dedication and hard work.

 

[Tips2Toes]

I thoroughly agree with you hun.Although I recently completed my basic training I was informed that I should undertake further training and that indeed i should never stop training.
I am not under the illusion that i should be able to complete a perfect set of nails in under 90 mins what I need is reassuring that I am perfectly normal not being able to do this streight away and that plenty of others started off the same way.

I think there needs to be more advice around on the options available to newly trained technicians and training providers should be prepared to provide further training to tech's just completing the foundations. After all I'm sure many techs have set up after their foundation. If I were a client with just two options i would rather be treated by a tech who completed advanced training streight after their foundation than somone who is waiting a year to be able to get on a course.

I'm not saying there should be a quick and easy way, just better options.

 

[Rose143]

I totally agree Sass as I was one of those very techs that thought I could, do a nail course in five days in all three systems, gel, fibreglass and L&P, and be able to charge what other professional techs do. When I discovered this site, after 4 months of battling to get a nail tip to stay on, I realised that there was tons more learning to do and welcomed every bit of knowledge and information I could get my paws on.

Even at my foundation course I was chatting to some of the girls who have never even picked up a brush in their lives, they thought they could walk out and do a full set that very night and charge for it, my reponse to them was "You girls are kidding right?" and they said "Well how much more do we have to do?" and then I realised that I was in that very same predicament a few months before.

I do think training providers need to express the importance of further training, studying and practising. I think this would save the industry from the fly by night techs and poor quality techs we're competing against. I think this would improve on the industry as a whole as we would have people who actually give a damn about the health of their clients nails.

 

[Trinity]

Oh! Can I play devils advocate

Why is it the responsibility of the company YOU have chosen to advise you of what you might or might not want to do in the future?

I was trying to think of something to compare it to, but at short notice the only thing I can think of is taking driving lessons..........when you book with your instructor to learn to drive, they don't say right, now you want to learn to drive, you need to remember your insurance is going to cost a fortune, your car will fail it's MOT regularly costing you a fortune to repair just to keep the heap of scrap on the road. Your road tax will go up every year and some little scroat will rear end you whilst changing his CD playing a full blast and not watching the road ahead. You will probably end up with 6 points on your licence for speeding because some jobsworth copper will be hiding in the bushes whilst you're rushing to get the kids to school on time and go 2mph over the speed limit on a dual carriageway. You'll find yourself up to your ears in debt with finance because you just have to have that fabulous little convertable sporty number to get up your snotty neighbours nose seeing as she passed her test first time! and so on, and so on.

They are just interested in their business, and why not, so are we. Yes we care about our clients health and safety and all those good things, but ultimately we're in this to pay our bills and feed our families, so it's about making a living.

Those of us who have trained with those companies who care about their 'customers' have been very lucky, but we made our own luck too, we researched our topic, we phoned around, trawled the net and found out what we should be doing to achieve what we wanted.

Isn't most of the responsibility on us to ensure we get what we need, not those we approach?

Whoa I need a sit down now :lol:

 

[Fingertips ND]

I agree with Trin

but......

I do think that these college prospectus' that tell you if you do a 12 month one night a week course you can go out and get a job as a nail tech when they haven't taught you p&w or sculpting are wrong!

If I had known then what I know now about training at college I wouldn't have bothered!

I can't tell you how gutted I was when I came to the end of my course, found this site and realised I could have saved myself a lot of time, money and got better educated!

 

[Trinity]

I do think that these college prospectus' that tell you if you do a 12 month one night a week course you can go out and get a job as a nail tech when they haven't taught you p&w or sculpting are wrong!

I agree totally - that's just plain wrong.

And those who show someone how to apply a full set, but rebalancing and/or removal isn't part of the course - what the hell is that all about!! :evil:

 

[Fingertips ND]

I only did one infill at college and even that was from a ten min training session.

I dread having clients because some things I am clueless about because I wasn't taught them!

I wish I had found this site two years ago!

 

[Urban Geek]

Although it is in student/technician's best interest to throughly research the area they want training in, I don't think that relieves providers of the responsibility they have to advise realistically what will be achieved after their course.

 

[Jen Smith]

When I was doing my Foundation Course and producing my first nails as mountain ranges, there were at least two girls on the course that had already got their salons ready to go straight into doing the publics nails. One of them didn't even turn up for the re-balance day!! There nails were better than mine for sure, but they didn't look like salon quality to me. But they were adamant, they had given up their jobs, and this course was 'all they needed' to get them into the world of nails.

You know they are probably doing ok, as they did have a certain flair, but I was never under the illusion that the Foundation Course would be 'enough' for me to go Jo-public. Jeesh, I sometimes feel now - 9 months on - I am not really ready. I certainly have lots more education to do on top of what I have done thus far.

I digress a little I know.. but I for one was not told that the Foundation was only a 'building block' and that I would need to do lots more training before being fully competent. It was 'drummed' into me however on here by Geeg, as she has clearly and concisely stated on numerous occasions that the Foundation is what it says... a Foundation - a start!

Oh hummm.... but I would still do it all over lol!!

 

[Trinity]

Although it is in student/technician's best interest to throughly research the area they want training in, I don't think that relieves providers of the responsibility they have to advise realistically what will be achieved after their course.

Where do you draw the line of responsibility?

 

[Urban Geek]

Where do you draw the line of responsibility?

I don't think you can Trinity - responsiblity lies with both parties - the training provider and the student.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Thank you for all your replies and pm's so far.

Trin I love it when you play at devil's advocate and yes I hear what you are saying. However, to use your example, driving lessons have been around for a long time, we know about speeding points, we tend to to go by recommendation of which instructor to use, and on the whole we know what questions to ask when finding an instructor. Plus doesn't an instructor say when you are ready to go for your test and you keep having lessons until you are? And if you fail the test then you have MORE lessons.

I've been a tech for 5 years now, and in such a short space of time I have seen such a boom in our industry. When I started there was virtually no competition, now everyone's granny and second cousin twice removed is learning to do it!! Now don't get me wrong it's not a sour grapes thing here. I am all for healthy competition, but when you hear of so many horror stories of damages nails etc I am positive this is down to people thinking they can do a course from 2-5 days and immediately go and charge full whack. One of the people on Natalie's course said she was going to do just this, thank god her trainer advised her against this and talked about charging model rates.

When we talk about trying to raise industry standards then don't you think it should start right at the beginning, from getting sound advice from the place where you train. We see questions on here about the very basics, how do I remove acrylics? what's an overlay? etc. These are all basics that should be covered on these initial courses. How can you teach proper application but not teach proper removal, after all that's when a hell of a lot damage can be caused?

We knock Alessandro, but to be fair, if you sign up with their packages then you get UMLIMITED training at no extra cost. They maybe expensive to start with, but training is priceless.

 

[mum]

"Where do you draw the line of responsibility?" is a very good question

I agree with all the points made so far (and I don't usually sit on the fence!)

Having seen the evolution of this industry nearly (but not quite) from the beginning, I can definately see how we have reached this stage.

It has always attracted many people who are just not prepared to invest time and money into something that has no guarantee of being successful. In the past, the only way to sell training was to say that the attendee would be 'qualified' to do nails. This doesn't make it right but it was what was accepted. There was nothing else.

This is still continuing but the difference now is that it is a much bigger business, there are regulations that apply, there are nationally approved and funded courses which are all so relatively new the confusion is mind-blowing and the need for good, experienced teachers far exceeds the supply.

I am sure many private training companies know that if they tell it how it is they would not sell any courses because people are still not prepared to invest in what could be a lucrative career. More see it as a hobby or 'lets try it an see' and they buy more courses than serious potential technicians.

FE training providers are dealing with many different qualification requirements, don't have nearly enough good teachers (good technicians can earn more doing the job than teaching!) and struggle with funding issues.

Sites like this and threads like this really help to raise awareness of what is wrong and what is needed to put it right.

Well done (again) Geeks

 

[Trinity]

I am sure many private training companies know that if they tell it how it is they would not sell any courses because people are still not prepared to invest in what could be a lucrative career. More see it as a hobby or 'lets try it an see' and they buy more courses than serious potential technicians.

See! That's what I was trying to say, but it came out different :lol:

Sass - I wholeheartedly agree with your comments about the driving instuctor thing - although again, some instructors are fab and some are appalling - who regulates them?

And all the stuff about safe removal, etc. drives me potty too

Using driving as an example is going off topic slightly but I can't think of anything else that helps explain it - perhaps therein lies the problem??????..........the demand for Nails training has expanded so quickly, so this is all new and when there is something new there will always be those who just jump on for the quick buck.

I don't think you can Trinity - responsiblity lies with both parties - the training provider and the student.

I agree NailNovice2 - but who's responsibility stops where? Where does it stop being my responsibility and become my suppliers?

 

[Urban Geek]

I agree NailNovice2 - but who's responsibility stops where? Where does it stop being my responsibility and become my suppliers?

Trinity - I would say each party's responsibility is ongoing. When I have located a good educator, I only continue training and spending more money with that company if I continue to be happy with the training and it provides results. It is the educator's responsibility to ensure that they provide training to meet my needs otherwise they will loose my custom.

 

[scattyfox]

I think that educators and training companies have an obligation to be truthful, how else can people in the industry just starting out be expected to trust their training providers if they do not give you the FULL facts.

Any company with any worth will tell you exactly what is what and where you go from here.

Hoepfully in the future FE colleges will fall into line and have trained technicians teaching their courses and not beauty therapists who have their hands full enough with the impications of their own courses.

 

[Sassy Hassy]

Sass - I wholeheartedly agree with your comments about the driving instuctor thing - although again, some instructors are fab and some are appalling - who regulates them?

It's a good analogy hun, I wonder then if there is a forum called the Driving Instructor Geek! I guess all industries have the cowboys, the hobbyists and the cheap priced outfits, it's down to us to educate the client that you get what you pay for - most of the time! I've seen some crap sets that have cost over 40 quid!

 

[kittenclaws]

when i went in to doing nails i did a lot of searching and phoning around, i have invested a lot of time and money and was told from the start that it would be a long constant learning road, i have done my foundation in everything i can and have registered for my nvq levels 2 and 3 untill i get them i will not class myself as a fully qualified tech, at the moment i class myself as accredited,

i am hopeing to finish my nvq within the year (if i ever get the folder as ive been waiting a month ) then i still want to go on training as there is always something new, i did know it would take a lot of time

 

[Nailsinlondon1]

I can see where this is comming from, I liken it to learning at school..........
Would a pupil in junior school be made to think that after they have finished junior school they have all the knowledge to skip senior schooling and go straight to work, ignore the age bit here and stay with me on this one.................
Ok they know how to read and write and do basic maths, but we are all aware that further education is needed for them to finish their education, this is known by all.......
So I feel this should come from the top, the training providers...........be honest with Technicians and tell them, that their foundation course or what ever their first taste of the nail industry course is called, is just that basic, laying the foundations like learning to read and write and basic Maths............ then make them aware that further education is needed to become that Technician that is sought after by the Lady's that want to have nails to die for....done in a safe and professional way, no matter if its home based, Mobile or Salon, each set up has a very important part to play in this industry, and the attitude should be professional it doesn't matter where the job is done......Now if a Technician is put off by having to spend more time and money in learning more and furthering their skill level, then honestly are they really that interested or are they like the school drop outs that just want to get out there and earn money, only to find that 10 years down the line they are searching the internet for more FE courses to finish their education to get that better paid job ... and if training providers are scared in saying this, what does it say about them......So the responsibilities are on both sides, advise on realistic time scales and then its up to the individual to take this up and run with it ......No good just laying it all on one and not the other .......

The car is a good example, how many pass their test, plenty I say, but how many go further and learn all the other groups that are out there to take, LGV , HGV and Hackney License spring to mind.............These are people that want to make driving their living and their profession..the ones that want to be save and not sorry......and they know its going to take more than just a few lessons and a quick test....

Just my rambling for the night xxxx Phew !