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Personal Care Services

Answer

Apprenticeships and employment support are both fully transferred to the Northern Ireland Executive, with funding devolved in the usual way. This response therefore provides information on apprenticeships in England only, and on Youth Guarantee measures across England, Scotland, and Wales.

There are a number of apprenticeship standards available to support the hair and beauty sector, including the Level 2 Hairdressing Professional standard and the Level 2 Barbering Professional standard.

We are investing an additional £2.5 billion in the Youth Guarantee (across Great Britain) and the Growth and Skills Levy (in England) over the next three years. This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.

To support non-levy paying employers (typically SMEs) to meet the additional costs associated with employing young people, the UK government are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 when they take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees.

Additionally, the UK government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers [in England] for all eligible young people aged under 25 from the next academic year, to boost small business starts. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16 to 21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.

We also provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care.

The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises around 3,000 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England through nine regional networks which provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

12129

Session

2026-27

Transferred

Yes

Subjects

Apprentices Employment Personal care services Young people

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk