Marian Newman reflects on 12 months of the NailKnowledge programme
By Guest Writer | 13 January 2022 | Feature, Tech Talk
Marian Newman BEM, expert educator at NailKnowledge, reflects on progress and news from the first year of the programme…
“On 20 January 2021, the NailKnowledge went live online, following nearly two years of hard work. The team behind it had spent time not only deciding the content and the format, but building the very complicated website that automates the programme. In the months that followed, the content needed writing and editing by the two co-authors and experts, then the videos and animations, voiceovers and green screen presentations needed to be created.
“The bulk of the impressive IT and managing a team of animators and videographers fell to Kevin Nicholls, who many in the industry will know as being the owner and designer of Roo Beauty. The structure and content was written by me (known for textbooks and many other aspects in the nail sector). We were joined by the experts, Doug Schoon (who needs no intro) and Vitaly Solomonoff, a dermatologist and cosmetic chemist from Russia but living in the US.
“The launch was fantastic and testimonials have been amazing. The programme is aimed at all levels from beginners to experienced nail pros.”
“Several thousand students have participated and NailKnowledge is now offered by a number of companies alongside their own training courses. It means that the essential theoretical knowledge behind nails is covered. And we didn’t stop at the UK market. Following requests, NailKnowledge has been translated into Dutch and Spanish. Translations in Russian, Hebrew, Vietnamese, Chinese and Polish are on the agenda.
“We were also very aware of the lack of funds following the pandemic so we separated NailKnowlege masterclasses to make the entire course more affordable.”
“We were thrilled to achieve brand endorsement from Habia with some amazing feedback on the whole concept. And CND has made NailKnowledge a requirement for fledgling education ambassadors undertaking International Bootcamp.
“In order to address the longer courses, for example at FE, who need to provide the NK masterclasses and lessons to fit with their own course structure, we have options for teachers. They can separate the lessons and give access to their students in their own time and when it fits their own course. Plus, another option that allows teachers to show the video without any Knowledge Points in a classroom situation to allow for group discussion. Then the students log on individually and pass the quizzes and tests and gain proof for the ‘evidence’ required by the formal qualifications.
“In addition to all of this, there is a massive volume of free information in the Knowledge Base, the Blog, Ask The Experts and Glossary! Blogs are added every week that are all fact based and addressing current issues and a series of videos and interviews will provide even more fact-based information.
“Lastly, we are very proud of our FREE video: Allergies and How They Happen. This is packed with new information for the nail industry that goes a very long way to explain why and how we are seeing allergies develop, and importantly, how to avoid them.
“NailKnowledge is a unique and groundbreaking resource for the whole global industry. Thank you those who have supported NK so far and hope this will continue for a long time as we publish more essential info.”