Talking to… JACQUI AND SEAN O’SULLIVAN

The competition directors and nail industry veterans tell Kezia Parkins about their wildly varied careers and how industry education needs to change

Sean and Jacqui O’Sullivan have become like parents to the UK’s nail industry – an industry that is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate with changes to education, rises in allergies and confusing legislation to make sense of. The husband-and-wife team has spent decades in the industry keeping on top of it all and passing that knowledge on to their mentees, students, competitors and anyone who asks them for help. The duo has had a hand in writing many courses, qualifications, competition guidelines and standards, including the National Occupational Standards (NOS).

“The lucky thing is that we’re together,” says Jacqui O’Sullivan when I ask how they do it all. “We’re always talking about nails, about our students, the competitions – it’s a constant conversation.”

The pair met almost 30 years ago when Jacqui had already started her career in nails, completing a five-day Star Nails course, and Sean worked in hospitality as a chef. It wasn’t long before they went into business together, opening a salon called Naughty Nails based in Boothstown, Greater Manchester.

Jacqui O’Sullivan hosting a PB Nail Competition

With Kirsty Meakin on stage at Professional Beauty

Proper qualifications

“The funny thing is there were no proper qualifications in nails readily available then and we decided we wanted to teach,” says Jacqui. “Sean, by this point, had also decided he could do nails,” she laughs.

So, the couple set about finding somewhere to get qualified and came across the Carlton Institute, becoming certified in manicure, pedicure and the fairly new innovation of extensions. “I will never forget this but Sean got one extra certificate than me,” says Jacqui.

They went along to a Professional Beauty show in London and it was Kismet (both the nail brand and the meaning of the word itself!) that led them to speak to Grafton International at their stand. “We began using Kismet and became experts in the product, then we approached Grafton asking to become educators, and that’s where it all started,” says Jacqui.

“We gave up the salon, and for four years we drove across the UK, going to wholesalers and teaching classes for Grafton,” adds Sean. “We would travel from Cornwall to Scotland, often being away for weeks at a time. This was before mobile phones so we’d use maps and spend hours trying to find cheap hotels because we couldn’t just book them online.”

Jacqui adds, “We’ve had students come back to us from those days and say, ‘I’m still doing nails’, which is really rewarding. Someone came up to me at an event the other day and I’d taught them 24 years ago!”

Getting into competitions

Now, their roles don’t just take them all around the UK but all over the world with their work in competitions.

From their involvement with Grafton and working on the stands at Professional Beauty shows, Jacqui was invited to become a judge of the PB Nail Competitions. Later, Sean, with his background in graphic design, got invited to become a judge for the art and design category, alongside Marian Newman, who Jacqui went on to assist at multiple Fashion Week shows.

“When we were teaching, we would talk about competitors and competing, but once we started watching the competitors work, and saw the difference in the way competitors worked versus how you would work in a salon, we were able to take that into our teaching and show people shortcuts and give them tips and tricks. We started mentoring people to compete,” says Sean.

Many of their students went on to become winners. “Mentoring is very different from teaching because sometimes the people you mentor can become better than you, but they still come back to you for advice all the time.” says Sean.

“The most important thing with mentoring is to share your knowledge and your skills freely and not to worry that people are going to take them from you and become better than you because the better they become, the better you become,” adds Jacqui. “Whether they decide to ignore me in 10 years’ time, I don’t mind, I know what I’ve done to help them progress and they often become lifelong friends.”

The future of competitions

With Jacqui and Sean’s unrivalled experience in running competitions, they will be continuing directing the Professional Beauty Nail competitions, with some exciting developments ahead. “One of the biggest changes is that we will now be able to give personalised feedback, which is huge. Being able to spend more time on each competitor will make a big difference,” says Jacqui.

The pair will also be running a new facial competition in collaboration with Jenna Bailey MBE as a judge, and again those students will be able to get valuable feedback to help them improve.

Passion for education

The qualification that Jackie now teaches at The Trafford & Stockport College Group at the Stockport Campus is a Level 3 NVQ that has UCAS points. “There are people who have done Jacqui’s course, got UCAS points and been able to go on to university and do different things in completely different areas and industries,” explains Sean.

“So, it’s not just about doing a qualification in nails, it’s about learning to become productive in society. I believe strongly that we have a responsibility to our young people to prepare them not just for our industry but for industry in general, to help them do something they want to do, not just what they’re forced to do.”

Helping people get good qualifications in nails has been a huge passion for the couple right from the start, when they struggled to find qualifications themselves and, over the years, they have noticed a huge gap in education and knowledge about what really counts as a qualification and the potential impacts of not having one.

“There is a massive difference between a qualification and a certificate,” says Sean. “If you go off to one of the product companies and train with them, you get a certificate saying you can safely use that brand’s product but that doesn’t mean you can use another brand’s product. They are just certificates or CPD.”

“A qualification is when you go and you get an Ofqual-registered, funded course, and you get an NVQ or equivalent, that’s a qualification.”

Cutting through confusion

“It can be a minefield, and students can find it really complicated,” adds Jacqui. “I always tell them that even though they are getting a qualification with me, I teach them with all Artistic products, so if they want to go off and use another brand they have to do a conversion course because they won’t be insured to use that brand.

“I also say, when I’m teaching on a private course, if you’re still in this industry in three to six months, you’re clearly staying. You need to get yourself a qualification, whether you go to college or a private provider that offers a qualification. It’s your choice,” she continues.

“There are thousands of technicians out there that have just done accreditation. They’re amazing technicians, but haven’t got a qualification, they’ve got product certificates, and they don’t know that if you go to any insurance company, it will tell you must be qualified to at least a Level 2 vocational qualification or equivalent.”

Jacqui O’Sullivan judging at a PB Nail Competition

Jacqui O’Sullivan giving feedback to competitors at a PB Nail Competition

What needs to change

The O’Sullivans say that one of the pressing things that needs to change in the industry is pricing. “Around 25 years ago, we were charging £25 for a full set and £20 for infills. Prices in the UK really haven’t changed that much,” says Sean. “People don’t believe in themselves enough to charge more than the non-standard salons that are charging cheap prices.”

A lack of understanding of finance can also be a problem, says Jacqui, who has added a business unit for her students to learn the steps involved in setting up and running a profitable business.

Funding among colleges is also an issue, say the couple. “We still see colleges that are using a mix of product from different brands, which goes against teaching students to stick to one system to protect themselves,” says Jacqui. “But that’s because of lack of funding to provide every student with a kit, as well as lack of education among lecturers.”

She adds, “Sometimes, they don’t know enough themselves because they’ve been a beauty lecturer who has been pushed into nails, and that’s why a lot of colleges, unfortunately, are dropping nail courses – because they haven’t got somebody technical enough to deliver them, and the ones who are technical enough don’t want to do it.”

Sean adds that, historically, “under a Labour government, vocational education has always fared better for funding, whereas the Tories put more into higher education and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).”

He adds, “However, not every young person leaving school is that way inclined to follow STEM or want to work in the sciences and academia. There are people who want to work in art, catering, hospitality, and they should have the same availability to have a foundation qualification to start them off in their career.

“With the last leadership, we saw them trying to make changes to apprenticeships, which the Labour government has disbanded now – and has already set up a new department for apprenticeships – but it’s early days.”