Hairdressers visit houses of parliament for apprentice reform commission

An NHF member and her apprentice visited the Houses of Parliament to give evidence to a high-powered commission evaluating the potential apprentice reform. Wendy Cummins, owner of Quiffys salon in Southampton, and apprentice Hayley Robertson, went to the Houses of Parliament to discuss the challenges salons face when it comes to accessing good-quality training for young stylists as part of a bigger conversation around the future of apprenticeships. The commission has been set up by think-tank Demos to investigate how the number and quality of apprenticeships in the UK can be improved. It is due to submit a report to the government later this year. Wendy is the second NHF member this month to give evidence to the commission, following Barbara McNaughton, owner of Elements salon in Oxted, Surrey, who warned it was important that vocational apprenticeships such as hairdressing did not become devalued as more emphasis was put on higher level, more traditionally academic apprenticeships. "It's fantastic that the commission wanted to find out exactly how difficult it can be for salon owners and apprentices to find training that is going to leave young people 'salon ready'," says Wendy. "In our experience, there is little to no policing of training standards and, as a salon owner, it is really hard to know whether a provider is going to be up to scratch or not. "The fact the government has said it wants salons to manage the funding for training providers risks making a difficult situation impossible. Most salon owners will not have the time, knowledge or resources to evaluate providers properly. "What's needed is a proper, transparent policing system that salons can trust and which will mean young people, when they sign up to a particular college or provider, know they’re going to get a high-quality, relevant training."