Well, it’s that time of year again. Where’s the time gone? I used to laugh at my parents when they said “You wait ‘til you get to our age then you’ll know what we’re talking about” How true that is!
2018 proved to be a fairly testing year. Brexit seems to have taken over our lives & if you believe everything you read, the end of the world is nigh. The reality is that hair grows, colour grows out & no matter what happens, the hairdresser & barber will always be needed.
What about the good news for 2019? Well, firstly, I’d like to congratulate Edward on his appointment as the Global Ambassador for MyHairdressers.com. This means that all our students will now have access to the MyHairdressers extensive video library, a tremendous boost to the education we provide.
The other good news for employers is the reduction in contributions for those NVQ Level 2 apprentices that are over 19 years old, reducing from £900 to £700 from January 1st. As a leading training organisation, we feel that the cut in Government funding is a retrograde step, but if it encourages employers to take on more trainees, so much the better. Don’t forget, grants of £1000 are still available at Levels 2 & 3 for those under 19 at the start of their course.
As to the private side of our business; we’ve come up with a new “Pay as you Go” scheme. It’s apparent that getting loans for training is more & more difficult so we’re trying to make our system as stress-free as possible.
Very simply, we take a £500 deposit as an initial enrolment payment to cover VTCT registration (where applicable) & some equipment, & then we will organise an interest-free payment plan spread over the lifetime of the course. Hopefully this will take the stress out of looking for a loan when, very often, credit scores are poor & loans aren’t possible.
That’s about all our news so far for 2019, but watch this space for one or two exciting developments that will be announced early–mid January.
Meanwhile, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy Christmas & a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year.
