Members ofNorth Lincolnshire’s hairdressing community are calling for improved government cash support for employers taking on apprentices.
Currently, a business is entitled to a £1,000 apprenticeship incentive over a year, subject to the apprentice’s age, to help pay for wages and associated costs. However, other than during the pandemic, this incentive has remained at the same level for years.
Positive Approach Academy for Hair’s apprenticeship manager, Cherry Pearson, has created a petition calling for the incentive to be raised to £2,000. She said the current £1,000 level is an “insult”.
She has also warned of declining numbers of hairdresser apprentices in the Scunthorpe area. Her call is being backed by local salons, including Chrissy Pexman’s Chrloumia Hair & Beauty.
Scunthorpe’s Labour MP Sir Nic Dakin said the decrease in apprenticeships locally “is a real concern”, but argued the Government “has demonstrated its commitment to overhaul apprenticeships to support opportunity”.
‘It’s not an incentive, it’s an insult’
Positive Approach is the only hairdressing apprenticeship course provider in North Lincolnshire. “They need employment in salons to then come to us to do the apprenticeship qualification one day a week,” said Ms Pearson. Recruitment is a main part of her role, including getting salons to meet apprentices to take on.
As the incentive has remained at £1,000 and general salon costs risen, numbers doing hairdressing apprenticeships to get national vocational qualifications (NVQs) have dropped. “Post-Covid, we had an intake of about 15 learners that year, I think that was the end of 2022.
“Last year, we took six learners, this year we’ve taken five learners. So it’s drastically gone down, basically because salons can’t afford it.” She expressed frustration the apprentice incentive had simply not risen, stating: “I mean I’ve done this job for 20 years and it’s always been a thousand a year.”
“The other problem we’ve got as well is in April the wage increase for apprentices goes up.” Following independent recommendation, the Government is increasing apprentices’ minimum wage from £6.40 to £7.55 an hour.
“That’s what it’s supposed to go towards,” Ms Pearson said of the £1,000 incentive. “Now, it’s not an incentive, it’s an insult.” If the incentive remained the same and salon apprentice trends continued, she added: “It would be only so long as a business that we can survive, employing staff, working the hours we do, training the learners.”
She also warned the apprentice incentive issue is now affecting hairdresser numbers in Scunthorpe. “We’re very short of very good trained hair stylists in the area,” she said. “It’s a lot to ask of an employer, even if they do need a stylist, they’ve got to invest for three years.”
The falling hairdresser apprentice numbers was not a phenomenon limited to Scunthorpe only, and the apprentice incentive’s stagnation affected industries generally.
£2,000 incentive ‘would be a lot better’
Ms Pearson’s campaign is backed by Chrissy Pexman’s Chrloumia Hair & Beauty, based in Messingham. Ms Pexman’s route into the industry was via apprenticeships.
Recalling this, she said: “I feel that if I went to college full time, you don’t get the experiences you do doing an apprenticeship in a salon on the shop floor every day.” On a £2,000 a year apprentice incentive, she said: “It would be a lot better because then as well you could maybe buy more resources as well for training.”
“It would be a massive help towards their wages,” she added. “There’s a lot of people that think that Government actually pay the apprentices’ wages. They don’t understand we actually pay for them out of our own pocket.
“There’s girls out there that want to do it so much, but they can’t find salons taking on an apprentice.” Ms Pexman has an apprenticeship at her salon and another girl on a trial, pending possible apprenticeship.
(Image: Official UK Parliament Portrait)
Future levy changes
“I was grateful to sit down and listen to Cherry’s concerns about the future of hairdressing apprenticeships after she got in touch with my office last year,” said Scunthorpe MP Sir Nic. He said her work over the last 20 years “has been vital for local businesses in our area and the decrease in apprenticeships is a real concern for our community”.
He added: “The new Labour Government has demonstrated its commitment to overhaul apprenticeships to support opportunity. In September, the Prime Minister and Education Secretary announced a new growth and skills levy which will replace the existing apprenticeship levy and include new foundation apprenticeships. The training eligible for funding under the new levy will develop over time, informed by Skills England’s assessment of priority skills needs.”
Sir Nic said the existing skills system was “fragmented and broken”, adding: “Boosting Britain’s skills is a key ambition of this Labour Government.”
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Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
