'Perfect storm' could see end of salon apprenticeships

Millie Trenholm & Riyah Collins

BBC Newsbeat

BBC Alex Ritchie pictured in a salon. She has long blonde hair worn loose and wears a black hoodie. Behind her are salon chairs, mirrors, and clients getting their hair cut. — Apprentice Alex Ritchie says losing staff like her will have a massive impact on the industry

Salon owners are warning they might not be able to take on any new apprentices within two years due to financial pressures.

The British Hair Consortium, which represents 50,000 hairdressing professionals, is calling on the government to make changes to how they are taxed, saying the current system poses an “existential crisis”.

Apprentices have told BBC Newsbeat the schemes are an important opportunity for people who don’t want to pursue further education.

The government has been approached for comment but did not respond.

Salons pay VAT at 20% like most businesses but the British Hair Consortium say because the work they do is so labour intensive as opposed to selling products, they have less of a chance to make back those costs.

So to keep costs low, it says an increasing number of salons are opting to rent chairs instead of employing stylists to avoid paying the tax.

A report by CBI Economics found that is likely to have a knock-on effect on opportunities for apprentices.

It estimates that by 2027 there “may be no new apprenticeships offered and direct employment could plummet by 93% by 2030”.

‘Crippling a lot of salons’

For 22-year-old apprentice Alex Ritchie, “it’s quite scary knowing that people won’t get that opportunity that we get”.

She’s training in Darlington, County Durham, and dreams of having her own salon one day but worries that without apprentices, the industry will really struggle.

“You can’t run a salon without having apprentices,” she says.

“They are your main support when you’re doing clients. It will have a massive impact on the amount of salons and how many clients they can take.”

Jezz Ellis is head of operations for Saks, a chain of salons, and says that unless things change, hairdressing apprenticeships will become less attractive.

Salons are facing a “perfect storm” he says, which will impact how many apprentices they can afford to train.

“You’ve got the VAT issue which has always been difficult.”

But there is also the growing issue of insecure or “disguised” employment resulting from fewer staff jobs being offered.

Adam Hussain says hairdressing will always be his “fall back” once he completes his apprenticeship

Adam Hussain pictured in front of a shelf of folded black hair towels. He wears a black shirt over a black T-shirt and wears large black glasses. — Adam Hussain says hairdressing will always be his “fall back” once he completes his apprenticeship

This means while they might work to a salon’s rules and be treated like an employee, they’re actually self-employed so miss out on benefits like sick pay, maternity pay and pensions.

“And with National Insurance going up and a national minimum wage increase, it’s making it very difficult for those salons to increase their prices to meet the extra costs.

“All of those things added together is just crippling a lot of salons,” Jezz says.

For Adam Hussain, who’s working towards his level two apprenticeship in hairdressing, the benefits are big for people like him.

“Without this apprenticeship, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he says. “I’d probably be doing God knows what.

“Apprenticeships are really good – you get paid to learn, you’re learning on the job, it’s a very hands-on career.”

The British Hair Consortium wants the government to act quickly ahead of the spring forecast on 26 March, where the Chancellor Rachel Reeves will lay out economic plans for the future.

Although the government did not respond to Newsbeat’s request for comment, the Department for Education has previously said it was time apprenticeships were taken seriously.

Last week it announced changes which will allow employers to decide whether or not a Maths and English qualification is needed to apply for some apprenticeships.