NHF/NBF reveals apprenticeship costs to be lowered for beauty salons
By Sophie Nutt | 20 March 2019 | Movers & Shakers, News
The spring statement from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, confirmed that the 10% fee that small businesses pay when they take on apprentices aged 19 or over will halve from 1 April 2019.
Small businesses with less than 50 employees who take on 16-18 year olds or those aged 19-24 who have been in care or have a local authority care plan currently do not pay anything towards the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment – and this will continue unchanged.
In January this year, changes to funding bands meant cash contributions for employers of older apprentices on the hair professional Trailblazer standards went down from £900 to £700. The recent announcement means that the cash contribution will go down again to £350 for new starters.
Employers of apprentices on the beauty professional Trailblazer standards at level 2 will also see cash contributions go down on 1 April:
- Beauty therapist: reduced from £700 to £350
- Beauty and make-up consultation: reduced from £300 to £150
- Nail services technician: reduced from £350 to £175
“We’re delighted that our campaign to recue the cost of apprenticeships for small business employers has been successful,” says Hilary Hall, NHF and NBF chief executive. “Many salons are put off from employing older apprentices, so this reduction is good news, but of course there are still the higher minimum wage costs to pay for anyone aged 19 or over once they have completed the first year of their apprenticeship.”
The spring statement also confirmed the government’s commitment to T-levels, the new technical qualifications for those aged 16 and above. They are two-year technical programmes set at level 3, which include a work placement of 45-60 days. It is expected there will be T-levels for hairdressing, beauty therapy and barbering.