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.