Why do people think very short courses are OK?

[number1kitty]

Just my two pennys worth, I agree that some short courses do not teach someone all they need to know and often pass everyone. Lets face it has any one ever met anyone that has failed a beauty therapy course no matter how long or short?

I do agree some courses should be stricter and certainly not allowed as correspondence courses as seen on eBay. This is something I feel BABTAC and The Guild have a lot more power as they can raise awareness amongst the general public.

I am a trainer, and I offer short courses, I teach non pros and therapists. I only offer a very small range and my courses are full from start to finish. I would not book in someone who I thought would be a danger to society. I have full ongoing contact with trainees to ensure they are ok.

A lot of short courses though are CPD courses and enable therapists to gain new skills so we can't knock them. Any longer than a day and therapists especially those running their own salons will lose money by closing up for weeks on end.

There are courses I feel that yes should be stricter such as intimate waxing, nail extensions and eye treatments as they are so much more dangerous.

You have to look at everyone though as an individual. I went to college and did nail extensions for 6 months as a night course, and whilst I am OK I have seen some nail techs who have done a few day course who are superb at what they do.

You either have it or you don't. You can learn in a couple of weeks what it takes a year to learn at college, and I have seen girls leave college not knowing anything. A lot of them can not even paint nails or mix lash tint.

Is it the length of the course itself or is it that the guidelines perhaps are not stricter? Should people undertaking these short courses perhaps have to take an external exam similar to a driving test before they get a certificate of qualification?

I am sure theres a lot of people on here who have done short intense courses and probably far better than me at some things. I have done this for 12 years and done 2 years at college and many short courses along the way. Am I the best therapist for it all, probably not and I still have so much more to learn as well.

I am not saying your wrong. Just think that the people with the powers to make a change are turning a blind eye. Whilst they have their backs turned, mayhem will happen and there is little we as a community can do.

Kate x

 

[Beautilicious2Oz]

I have completed short courses that fitted in with my family but not pocket, they were expensive and so was the neccessary kits to support the courses, it was an investment in my future career.

I take my beauty career very seriously and the courses I have attended follow with exams and practical assessments. I would not dream of working on a client unless I felt 100% confident I knew what I was safely doing and had gained more than enough practice on my friends, family and work collegues.

I personally feel this forum can sometimes sound VERY negative to anyone who has not been able to complete a 2-3year college course but everyones situation is different.

There will be those who do a 1 or 2 day course then expect a client base or to work in a salon the next day but those who are serious about H&S and professionalism will take the foundations of the courses and practice, practice, practice etc etc until they are as good as they can be from the training, research, practice and experience. Even those who complete the longer college courses will still learn more in the real working world.

Ironically I completed a course today along with a girl in her last year at college who was rubbish and knew little about h&s etc.

Please do not pass judgement or tar us all with the same brush. I am a professional who is a perfectionist and very much enjoys providing a high level of Beauty services.

 

[allieXayrshire]

im not at all saying all short courses are bad but i do think that they should all be carried out by a reputable company such as NSI or CND and they should concentrate on one thing at a time. In 5 days i was expected to learn manicure, pedicure, gel, acrylic and nail art and each day started at 11 and was finished by 2or3. I think people need to be aware that the short course on something like nails that they are doing is only a foundation for them to build on but some companies are just after the money so will tell people anything.
I would do intensive short courses again but would always spend the extra on a reputable company as it is so much more worth it. the company i first trained with did not even allow for students to call up with questions as there phone number connected to an operator in england.
xx

 

[Annebet]

Hi Beautilicious2Oz

I wasn't getting at u or people who do short courses, but at the companies who advertise these courses as they should tell them they need more training after these courses that not one course will be enough, as a lot of people are doing the one course thinking they are fully trained when they are not and it's such ashame as lots of these people will give up thinking they are no good when all they need is a few more courses under their belt

 

[tracey louise]

agree with lots of things that have been said.
to be honest i went into the nail industry with my eyes closed and i was naive as i didnt think it was going to be as hard as it was.
i did a 3day course then atleast 2 months at home before my final assessment day but without that 2 month gap there is no way i could have got just the written work done let alone the practice.i couldnt believe how much work i had to do but i loved it and couldnt wait to get stuck in.
i didnt do any research in the course or products which i now realise is a stupid thing to do but i was just lucky that my local college had a well known teacher who used a well known companies brand of products.
i can see how easy it would be to end up taking a crap course.
i still get frustrated with a friend as she was taught by a friend of hers and recieved a certificate at the end of her DAY course which she thinks was and is BETTER than mine as it was easier and cheaper.she then has the cheek to ask me if i can get her somethings from our local wholesalers as she cant get a trade card due to her certificate not being recognised.
now i just feel sorry for her

 

[Exquisite Touch]

This thread has been a long time coming.....
I trained non stop for four years 2 years nails and 2 years massage and reflexology and still i go back and do more training (mainly updating skills and reviewing anatomy and physiology)
I went and did my 7303 as i was fed up of college students walking in my door for work experience and they couldnt even do a precision polish. I have spent hours and hours showing and explaining how to polish, wax etc. One student came she had been qualifed level 2 beauty for a year and had her own insurance and was studying level 3 I asked her to show me an eyebrow wax she applied the wax without pulling the skin taut, and told the client (another student) to raise her eyebrows and proceeded to rip of the strip without pulling the skin taut. I was mortified to the point I emailed our resident wax guru Kim and asked her the protocol for waxing as i had two students at the time who both were taught by the same tutor the same procedure.

I have had various ladies come in asking for work and have done 2 day courses they show me there work and some of it is abismal. They have no idea was paraonychia (sp) is or onycholysis they think the hypernychium (sp) is something from outerspace and couldnt tell you one tiny bone of the hand or foot they think phalanges are a foreign country.
You couldnt learn brain surgery in 2 days or a day could you?
ok rant over
Deb x

 

[number1kitty]

This thread has been a long time coming.....
I trained non stop for four years 2 years nails and 2 years massage and reflexology and still i go back and do more training (mainly updating skills and reviewing anatomy and physiology)
I went and did my 7303 as i was fed up of college students walking in my door for work experience and they couldnt even do a precision polish. I have spent hours and hours showing and explaining how to polish, wax etc. One student came she had been qualifed level 2 beauty for a year and had her own insurance and was studying level 3 I asked her to show me an eyebrow wax she applied the wax without pulling the skin taut, and told the client (another student) to raise her eyebrows and proceeded to rip of the strip without pulling the skin taut. I was mortified to the point I emailed our resident wax guru Kim and asked her the protocol for waxing as i had two students at the time who both were taught by the same tutor the same procedure.

I have had various ladies come in asking for work and have done 2 day courses they show me there work and some of it is abismal. They have no idea was paraonychia (sp) is or onycholysis they think the hypernychium (sp) is something from outerspace and couldnt tell you one tiny bone of the hand or foot they think phalanges are a foreign country.
You couldnt learn brain surgery in 2 days or a day could you?
ok rant over
Deb x

lol to be fair I have forgotton my paronychias from my onycholysis !

I do know what a phalange is though!

It is shocking what these girls are being taught, some of the tutors need sacking. I applied for a job in a college four years ago and never got the job. Three weeks later I was chatting to a girl that worked there and when she realised who I was went on to say that the head of department didn't like the fact I was more qualified than her :irked:! I don't even have a level 3!!!!

I did all the Level 2 and then did seperate bits such as body massage and nails etc. So how can I be more qualified than a head of a department.

I have had to completly re-train staff too and its a ball-ache!

My boyfriends starting beauty college in September so will see what poo he is taught there! Probably not much!

Kate xx

 

[Annie23]

Well this thread is of particular interest to me and it has been very interesting reading.

I have several nail certificates which I gained from both local colleges and private colleges. From my own personal point of view I have learned far more from the short courses than I did in the full academic year at college. However, I think initially local college it was a good entry into learning nails, but I was lucky in that I had an excellent teacher. But when I went on to do my CND courses the difference was substancial.

I have recently in the last week put up a thread about the fact that I can no longer attend my ITEC Beauty Specialist course that began in January this year due to ill health, I have deferred till September, but due to my ongoing illness I think its in my own personal interest to do short courses in the treatments that I would like to offer. So for over a week I have been researching, posting threads on Salon Geek and generally collating a variety of information so that I can make an informed choice and hopefully choose the best course for me. As far as I am concerned location and price is a factor but not important when making my final decision. One of the first questions that I have asked the academies is "What product range do you use" as I think this says a lot about their ethos. By no means do I think that this short course once I am qualified is the end, I know its just a beginners/introduction, a stepping stone if you like to enable me to go onto specific product training with a company such as Dermalogica, Environ, Susan Molyneux etc. Something else I am researching at the same time.

I think if you know what you are doing then short courses have there place, do your research, get as many recommendations as possible and seek out professionals on a site such as this with a fantastic reputation for teaching and learning. Unfortunately newbies don't have the luxury that I have of being in the industry already, but then they wouldnt spend thousands on a new car without doing their research, so what is the difference when its something as important as your career

sorry for the long post!!

anne xx

 

[Lemmonie]

To be honest i dont think they are such a bad thing for a few reasons

1) Most people attending a 2 days nail enhancement course willgo along realise it isnt as easy as it looks but go ahead and do nails for their mates family etc.

2) The same people might have the gumption to advertise, gain insurance,set themselves up and go for it as a nail tech but if they dont continue with education it will all be in vain.

3) My guess would be most people dont bother doing anything with their "qualification" as lets face it you couldnt be employed.

4) They can be a facinating insight and inspire someone to seek further education with prehaps colleges/more recognised educator


In my case i chose a short intensive 2 day nail course. I would have loved to have done the Creative Foundation but i just simply didnt have the money so for a fraction i did the easy option. I enjoyed it but was also acutly aware that there was alot of information I wasnt getting about nails/industry. So i embarked on a govenment funded NVQ2 which for the first six months was superb (last months tutor left due to illness and was replaced by non-nail tech) I also did a creative conversion which to be fair wasnt exactly as i was led to believe either. All of that cost less than a foundation with Creative.

So to summerise I dont believe they are bad simply because most people wont do anything with it and the rest like me will do something about it and go on to learn more.

 

[NoLimitNails]

I'll just add my thoughts to this...
I trained as a beauty-therapist quite some time ago, we had classes in manicure (natural nails only) I was under education for 1,5 year.
Two (or three now??) years ago I decided to do a course on enhancements (after being out of the industry for a few years), I had been working as a beautytherapist at a nail-salon who used CND, so I went with that. And despite my education on natural nails I learned so much more in those 4 days! I had been very lucky as the person I worked for taught me anything about the process of nails apart from the actual sculpting of the enhancement, so all the things (powders, files, prep etc) wasn't new to me. But the theory about nails was new to me, despite my beautycourse!

What I'm trying to say is, some long courses is great, some short ones are great, but theres so much crap out there, and no way to know if you are a complete newbie.
Then theres the people who believe they get the best doing 5 systems on 5 days, and stop learning there.

Or theres us on here, asking questions and realizing that this is an ongoing learning curve (sp?)

Which leads to my point, short or long course, it's about continuing searching information. You can be lucky with a college class ore not and same with private companies. In the end it's down to the lack of control with the education, whether it's our responsibility or government, all we can do is educate our clients....

Ok that was a long one....

 

[Exquisite Touch]

What I cant understand is how can people learn body massage in one or two days, I see people offering this course and it makes me so mad. I dont care who you are you cant learn all of the bodys systems, circulatory, lymphatic etc in a day and it sink in.

I have a beauty therapist who works for me and she had a pi** poor tutor the students who worked on her damaged her back and she is scared now of hurting her clients when she massages, It also annoys me when colleges pass the students even if they are not up to standard. When i queried this when I was at college I was told we have to pass them otherwise we dont get the funding next year, its not about the qualification its about bums on seats and funding.

That got me so mad.
ok another rant over

 

[Anne Niven]

I teach nails, nail art etc, Im also mobile. I also teach trouble shooting sessions for the people that have done college and intense courses and are now having problems.

I would never teach extensions with prior manicure and certainly wouldn't say after 2 days they were capable of working on clients. My courses run over a longer period of time with detailed paper work to be completed, including photographic evidence. So some of us out here are trying to keep standards us... or bringing them up. :green:

 

[Beautilicious2Oz]

I think 'no limit nails' has a very good point also is it not like school you either want to learn and do well or you want to skive and take the easy short cuts. A short course is not always the easy option but my experience attending short courses has definetely given me the basic foundations to get started. I attended a short course waxing course which was just 'ok' but then after some practice I topped it up with another more reputable course specific to the product I was using. I see this industry as constant learning and researching, is that not what this site is also to help with??

I would not dream of charging or advertising for a service until I felt completely competent and safe.

I intend to keep up to date with my products and training as I am sure the majority of us do.

 

[mum]

Great discussion with many excellent points. (I don't know how to quote a sentence from a post or I would quote several!!)

A couple of things I'd like to repeat though:
-I'm talking about 'professionals' as being those at fault not those new to the industry

-also short courses, well delivered by skilled trainers, are excellent and essential for every working technician. I am complaining about the short courses of 3-4 days in artificial nails taken in isolation of any other appropriate education. Taken as part of ongoing education that fits with personal circumstances, they are ideal

 

[Bagpuss]

I think sometimes "greed" comes into it....I could be well off from the amount of times i have been asked "can you teach me to do this"....but thankfully i was raised with morals and wouldn't dream of taking peoples money knowing that the "training" i had given them was next to useless cos they wont be covered for insurance...they wont get a recognised cert and to be honest....i wouldn't have a clue how to teach....wouldnt want to either. I think being able to teach is more than just showing them what to do...its how to break things down into stages that are easier to remember...being able to guide with patients and enthousiasm....being able to teach and teach well is an real skill in my mind.

What i do instead is direct people to this site...tell them to do their research well and be prepared for hard work.

 

[fifitrix]

Why do people think very short courses are OK?

The reason I think people believe that short courses are ok is because its one of those Jobs that looks easier than it is.

I think alot of people may start off thinking that a short course is all thats needed and then realise that they need more...that its not so easy and that even with all the training in the world not everyone is going to be any good at it.

Unfortunately I think people do tend to go on price and location before quality and reputation....and then end up having to pay out twice.

I can understand people who make this mistake, being completely new to this they would trawl the internet and be inundated with sites offering what "appears" to be the same thing....so i guess location and price would sway you...untill you knew better.

Most of us have had our nails done before being professional ourselves....how many of us sat and thought..."I could do that"....how many of us thought "surely it wouldn't take long to pick it up if someone just showed me"...?

I think the real love and respect for the industry comes later....at the beginning its just "i wanna do nails"....I don't think they realise the implications to start with....and many do these courses...realise its alot more in depth/harder and give up before the love and respect has had a chance to grow.

I totally agree with this Angie.

What I think is, there are people who fall into one of 2 categories; the ones who have been stung with the promise of becoming a fabulous tech after a short 2 or 3 day course, then realise that there is indeed a lot more to the nail industry than meets the eye, so then go on and get further education and learn and study to get themselves to where they want to be within the industry.

The others are happy to accept the short course that they have done and never do any further education, they don't feel that they need to. I am not talking about anyone on here, I have seen this with other nail technicians who have done a short course, set up shop and that's it for them.

In my case, after my first course, I knew there was more to it, and I realised that to have any sort of client base that the nails that I produced had to last and be a step up from acceptable, they had to be good. I had caught the bug, I wanted to succeed within the industry so therefore I went on got more and more education.

I feel so sorry for people who are stung by these "apparent" wonder short courses, but have known plenty from this site who have then gone on and achieved so much more, myself included.

 

[Natural]

I was talking to a girl last week that is doing a distance learning mani pedi course, the tutor sends her the work packs to complete and she returns them. I asked how she was practically assessed and she said that she is sent a hand to paint the nails on the prove that she is good at it (yes, because you couldn't get somebody else to do it for you, or spend hours doing it to perfection). When I questioned how a mani pedi course could be done without an assessment of the practical ability of her skills, including massage she just said that she'd know what to do as she was reading about it and completing the written work. God help us!!

 

[essentia]

I trained full time 25 years ago but I have been on refreshers both good and bad. However if you are new to beauty & nails the reason I think they should be scrapped is a) no matter how much flair you have you do not have the monitored practise that a longer course supplies b)these courses are cut to the bone and the complimentary subjects taught on longer courses are missed out which can round off a student C)bad habits are easily picked up as you are not being corrected. When I trained we also had art lessons to appreciate facial proportions and colour, lessons on how to look after our equipment as well as cosmetic science etc.

It is the education as a whole in this industry - I know some long courses are just as dire. We do need a shake up Short courses do have their place but I do not think they are suitable as a be all and end all for new students as are sometimes advertised.

 

[Violet Star]

Very interesting thread. I am qualified in 6 beauty and nail treatments and only two of them Ive been able to grasp from a one day course and that's lash/brow tinting and spray tanning.

Within the nail industry i done a one day manicure and pedicure course which wasn't enough and needed more education on this.
I went onto a one day gel nail course this was no where near enough for me to produce a good standard set of nails and be fully educated i then went onto my Brisa conversion and mini foundation which is 2 days i learnt so much in this more than ever. But its still not enough i want to do skill builders until i know that i have learnt enough.

And yes still me thought after my 1 day course i wouldn't need anymore education in nails but i really do.

I think for some these very short courses is a quick fix and a chance to be qualified in 2 days and then start earning money for a side job. These type of people who wont have any further education from this short course will never be able to do a better job than those who go on for further education.
Because when it comes to nails there is more to do that sticking on a tip painting on gel or acrylic and ta da nails done.

What really gets worse is when you get some people who don't want education at all! They think they can do the job of a nail technician sitting there watching someone else or watching nail video's on you tube.
And think because they know the application then they can do it.
That's what really annoys me the most. Because i spend most of my time paying out for education and putting my all into nails when some will just watch a you tube video set up a nail business charge 15.00 for a full set and get people flocking through the door.

 

[Violet Star]

Just wanted to add.....

Really when you think about it i think most of the time its not the pupil thats taking the course its the school or the tutor.
I.e giving the pupil the impression that they can do a 3 day course and learn acrylic, mani, pedi and gels all in 3 days.
The pupil thinks they are getting a good deal and the tutor feeds the pupils mind that they can go earn money after this course and practice will help them to get better and learn more.

Some people can be niave and believe this and after the course spend time and struggle to do their nails job and think i dont need more education because my tutor told me if i practice forever then ill be able to do nails without making mistakes.

I think its not unless someone comes onto salon geek or speaks to a nail technician with morals they wont ever realise they need further education.