GET BACK TO SCHOOL!

Since the beginning of this year, secondary schools have a statutory duty to give all pupils in years 8 to 13 at least six opportunities to meet with a range of providers of technical education. If you offer apprenticeships in your business, that could mean you!

The change in legislation is a move to beef up the Baker clause, introduced in 2018 to help overcome funding incentives in the system and ensure that young people are aware of all the options available to them – including through technical education. A 2019 study* found that two-thirds of secondary schools were still flouting the Baker clause a year after it was introduced.

In real terms, the government’s Skills and Post-16 Education Act (aka the Skills Bill) means that schools and colleges now have a legal obligation to act impartially and not show any bias towards any route, be that academic or technical. Furthermore, colleges and other providers must work with employers to develop skills plans, so that the training on offer meets the needs of local areas, and people no longer have to leave their home towns to find great jobs.

At Creative HEAD we’ve listened to you tell us how you’ve been prevented from talking to pupils about apprenticeships within your salon. Well, now you have a legal right to access those pupils, so make the most of this opportunity to promote the value of a career in hairdressing.

You’ll find some incredible assets to support your arguments in a special Careers Pack – including industry stats, a 50-minute filmed documentary, information on the different ways to train, 12 real-life case studies demonstrating the wealth of opportunity available within a career in hair – on The Industry website at the-industry.co.uk/not-just-ahairdresser

We hope it helps with your search for your next new apprentice!

* By the Institute for Public Policy Research

1.TAKE

AN

Apprenticeship

Hairdressing

2. STUDY AT COLLEGE

3), equivalent to A-Levels at grades A to E, designed to raise your skills to the highest level.

45%

HAS SHOWN GROWTH IN LAST FIVE YEARS*

IN 2019/20*

99%

SALONS ARE INDEPENDENTLY OWNED***; 82% OF SALON OWNERS ARE

SIX-FIGURE SALARIES ARE NOT UNCOMMON

In England, Trailblazer apprenticeships have already replaced the old frameworks, but reforms are also underway in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – check for updates at Skills Development Scotland Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly so long as you meet eligibility requirements, but for others you will have to pay – at Toni&Guy, for example, the City & Guilds Hair Professionals Level 3 Beginner’s Course, designed to get you salon-ready, costs £13,000 plus VAT for a 30-week full-time programme. the-industry.co.uk | @theindustrysquad

Exaucé Imbo, also known as Ex the Barber, first picked up his clippers at age 14 and never looked back.