Daily Mail today - Hairdressing interns...

[crazybek]

So i open the paper this morning before my first client to read an article on an undercover mail investigator who completed a 3 day internship at a salon..
If any of you have looked or can look at some point id love to see what reactions will come up.
I know what mine will be and i will be emailing the mail tonight to put a few points across..:evil:

 

[Tomme]

Will get that in a few mins and take a look xoxo

 

[Tomme]

Oh btw, should I read it now or wait til later when I finish, don't want to spend the day wound up xoxo

 

[sarah_clancy]

Omg have you read the comments?!
Someone has referred to our career as "why do the focus on utterly useless careers to moan about not getting paid.?"
Oh per-leeeeeze!!!
Everyone should start from the bottom!xX

 

[pigoletto]

Omg have you read the comments?!
Someone has referred to our career as "why do the focus on utterly useless careers to moan about not getting paid.?"
Oh per-leeeeeze!!!
Everyone should start from the bottom!xX

Yep - my eldest and I have
just finished reading that article and the comments.
All I can say is...before we became too enraged, we remembered that this is the Daily (Hate) Mail and its followers, so we trotted on lol! :lol::wink2:

 

[crazybek]

Tomme maybe read it later!Wish i had!and im here till 8.30pm tonight,seething and ranting lmao!!
Im def emailing the mail tonight and am going to tell them to re quote some of the stuff,maybe we should all do that and give them a barrage of complaints!x
Ive emailed them before about crap articles theyve put in about our industry.
I remember a double page spread one saturday with a pic of Mrs B saying how extensions are shaved off the heads of dead people before being used over here and what a fickle industry this is!
I emailed them and i assume many others did because the week after they did a piece on certified extension companies etc.
Really makes me mad as we seem to get it from all angles for some reason.

 

[chazz!!]

I agree with what was written its different if their getting payed. But if your paying to be there then you should do more than just cleaning. X

Sent from my GT-P1000 using SaloniGeek

 

[crazybek]

I agree with what was written its different if their getting payed. But if your paying to be there then you should do more than just cleaning. X

Sent from my GT-P1000 using SaloniGeek

My dispute is the way they write the aticle.Its basically saying why shouldnt they pick up a pair of scissors or deal with clients like we do straight away.
It takes years to build up a clintelle and the knowledge to do our job,and the way thats written makes it sound like its that easy to just pick up a pair of scissors and off you go which we know for definite thats not the case.
Those of us that work our butts off to be as good as we can and to offer the service we try to offer our clients will feel like that article is totally simplifying what we do and what weve worked so hard for.

 

[crazybek]

My dispute is the way they write the aticle.Its basically saying why shouldnt they pick up a pair of scissors or deal with clients like we do straight away.
It takes years to build up a clintelle and the knowledge to do our job,and the way thats written makes it sound like its that easy to just pick up a pair of scissors and off you go which we know for definite thats not the case.
Those of us that work our butts off to be as good as we can and to offer the service we try to offer our clients will feel like that article is totally simplifying what we do and what weve worked so hard for.

Forgot to say aswell that if your paying as an intern to gain experience like this writer did,that STILL doesnt mean you should be let loose on a clintelle that has taken years to build up.

 

[Easydry]

Is your child being used as a work experience slave?

Read more: Is your child being used as a work experience slave? | Mail Online

I think this is the same article online if anyone hasn't read it.

 

[chazz!!]

I read it as. The girl done cleaning all day and was told she would be shadowing a styalist. She could pehaps have a go at blowdrying a block. The girls at my salon get payed abd yes they clean most of the day but they do spend time washing hair. Someone could have shown her how to wash hair.

Sent from my GT-P1000 using SalonGeek

 

[AcidPerm]

Hi Crazybek

I think the points the writer was making are quite valid.

She suggests that this definition of 'voluntary work/internships' are used by some unscrupulous employers to avoid paying employees the legal minimum wage, (which is barely enough to live on for any length of time IMO).

She wasn't really trying to argue to be let loose on clients after 3 days experience but asking the question, what was the point in her paying to be in the Salon if they were not providing anything of real benefit to her in return, such as training, mentoring, careers guidance etc. but using her as an unpaid cleaner.

At least with a proper apprenticeship, the student earns some money whilst gaining experience and training in their chosen career. Sadly, there aren't enough apprenticeships to satisfy demand in some places.

The justification given by the employers for offering this type of work experience, that it weeds out the serious contenders from those youngsters who aren't really interested, was delusional at best.

There are many serious youngsters who are desperate to get a foothold in their chosen career but because they don't have affluent parents, they have to find any kind of paid work just so they aren't a financial burden on their parents.

That's one of the benefits of some part-time College courses where the student can work in another industry that pays them but can benefit from free training in their preferred industry in the hope of getting a job at the end of the course.

 

[jazmine]

The daily mail is an awful paper....I don't even think I will bother Reading the article I can imagine what crap it's full of. We're the happiest workers in our job that is reported time and time again, it proves that people still think we work in an airy fairy easy industry-shock horror that it takes a few years to get to a competent level!

I trained in salon and yes we cleaned a fair bit-but we watched whilst cleaning and I am a far tidier technician because of it and keeping my work area tidy is second nature

 

[crazybek]

Its just such a shame when papers think its ok to print things that include,what i consider to be some derogatory comments.
I dont think we as a salon would join a scheme where people pay you to work for you to gain experience.
We put alot of effort and time into our work experience students as we want them to learn that yes,this isnt an easy industry to be in and can be very tiring and crappy to start with,but we also want to show them how fun and great it is so we always pick clients we know which will be fine with them shampooing or having a go at blow drying maybe a staff member to even it out.
I guess there are going to be salon owners who blatantly take the mick and thats a shame but we shouldnt all be tarred with the same brush.
Its hard enough to be taken seriously sometimes as an industry and it doesnt need articles like that printed to make it look even worse,.
x

 

[Tomme]

Ooft! Lets see how many "slaves" as they call them work for the mail.
Might go there and ask if there's anything wrong with me, I went to a salon on work experience, tried hard, shampoo'd, cleaned, answered the phone, made coffee, answered the phone again, brushed some more, over and over again.
I bloody loved it and because of my effort got a weekend job, with more hard work I started working after school, after a year I was shown how to blowdry and slowly grew a small client base for blowdries. I then started my training an left.

I don't think it done me harm to do all that I did there, I would even clean te skirting boards, the spray tan room top to bottom, and the beauticians room even though she rented the space and was responsible for its cleaning.

Like said above by someone else I now keep my own work area clean and tidy, I can just about cope with 2 combs and my scissors on my station xoxo

 

[pigoletto]

Hi Crazybek

I think the points the writer was making are quite valid.

She suggests that this definition of 'voluntary work/internships' are used by some unscrupulous employers to avoid paying employees the legal minimum wage, (which is barely enough to live on for any length of time IMO).

She wasn't really trying to argue to be let loose on clients after 3 days experience but asking the question, what was the point in her paying to be in the Salon if they were not providing anything of real benefit to her in return, such as training, mentoring, careers guidance etc. but using her as an unpaid cleaner.

At least with a proper apprenticeship, the student earns some money whilst gaining experience and training in their chosen career. Sadly, there aren't enough apprenticeships to satisfy demand in some places.

The justification given by the employers for offering this type of work experience, that it weeds out the serious contenders from those youngsters who aren't really interested, was delusional at best.

There are many serious youngsters who are desperate to get a foothold in their chosen career but because they don't have affluent parents, they have to find any kind of paid work just so they aren't a financial burden on their parents.

That's one of the benefits of some part-time College courses where the student can work in another industry that pays them but can benefit from free training in their preferred industry in the hope of getting a job at the end of the course.

You're so right - it really highlighted some important issues that need to be brought to people's attention and that ultimately, may well need addressing.


However, as they say "t'was ever thus" - basically, there's always someone willing to capitalise/cash-in/take advantage of young people's drive, determination and in some cases, desperation to get a foot-hold in careers that are highly competitive, vacancy-wise.

At the end of the day, this article may well help save some young person from wasting their hard-earned/saved cash or at least put them or their parents in the position of being able to ask some really useful, well considered questions before they part with it.

As to the comments under the article, my comments in my previous posting remain the same lol!

 

[georgiehair]

does seem a bit of a dodgy way of working ...(paying for your placement)but we all have to start somehwhere and weve all done the cleaning,making tea etc etc, i wouldnt have expected to cut or colour straightaway...you have to learn the basics! Made me laugh would they expect to be a nurse or teacher after 3 days training!! I do know a certain celebrity whom shall remain nameless who bought a member of the family a salon....she had never been anywhere near a pair if scissors! she expected to just walk in and do it and make loads of money! needless to say it was that bad that the shop shut within 6 months as she had managed to upset the entire staff(they left) .

 

[crazybek]

does seem a bit of a dodgy way of working ...(paying for your placement)but we all have to start somehwhere and weve all done the cleaning,making tea etc etc, i wouldnt have expected to cut or colour straightaway...you have to learn the basics! Made me laugh would they expect to be a nurse or teacher after 3 days training!! I do know a certain celebrity whom shall remain nameless who bought a member of the family a salon....she had never been anywhere near a pair if scissors! she expected to just walk in and do it and make loads of money! needless to say it was that bad that the shop shut within 6 months as she had managed to upset the entire staff(they left) .

My thoughts too about the 3 day training thing.I can see where everyone else is coming from in regards to being treated unfairly but its a very grey area (mind the pun!!!) if you ask me.I swept mopped,hoovered,scrubbed floors,stayed late alot etc etc and i think its made me a more concious hairdresser for it as i know how much goes into becoming a good stylist,but i do think some placements may well take the mick.

 

[AcidPerm]

I think the main difference is that the placements Crazybek and Tomme are referring to exist to provide a genuine opportunity to youngsters. I'm sure this is still the case for the vast majority of Salons who offer work experience opportunities.

The situation as described in the article, appears to be pure exploitation. There is clearly no intention to provide any real opportunities for employment or training in these positions, regardless of how hardworking and keen the trainee is.

Just look at how 'Kerri' was treated. 6 weeks, no pay, lots of responsibility and then replaced at the end of the period by the next available paying mug.

What's also galling is that these companies are clearly flouting the minimum wage laws...

 

[persianista]

The whole article was sloppily written, and combative. Nobody is gonna be cutting hair in 3 days, only an idiot would argue that they should. Three days work experience is not slavery as the article stated.

I no longer allow work experience in my salon after some terrible experiences with disgusting attitudes and expectations shown to me and my staff.

The "slaves" can sit in their bedrooms on the dole if they think they are too superior to start at the beginning.

Typical daily fail rubbish.