Last November the British Beauty Council sent an open letter about hair equity to Baroness Smith, Minister for Skills, calling for mandatory, inclusive hair education within government-funded qualifications. The letter was signed by hundreds (yes really) of hairdressers and industry figures, including Anne.
You can read the letter in full here. It is hard hitting and to the point.
Basically its asks why college qualifications don’t include the National Occupational Standards covering competence in all hair types which were updated in 2023.
And here is the meat of the Minister’s reply.
“Thank you for your correspondence of 25 November, regarding updating
government-funded hairdressing qualifications to mandate training on all hair types,
including textured and Afro hair. I would be grateful if you could share my response
with your co-signatories.
I have noted the points made and very much appreciate the considered approach to
this issue. On the call to unlock funding to implement updated National Occupational
Standards (NOS) across all qualifications, while the NOS provide greater detail than
the English standards, the existing occupational standards in England already allow
for the implementation of that detail through their requirements.
Regarding the call to commit to a fast-track review for inclusive standards, the level 2
hair professional occupational standard was updated in 2023 and made more
inclusive of all hair types and clientele. The updated standard has been praised and
positively received by the sector. As you may know, revision of the level 3 hair
related occupational standard was paused earlier in 2025 due to the transition of the
Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education into Skills England.
Thank you also for your kind invitation to meet. Unfortunately, diary pressures mean
that I am unable to accept at this time. However, department officials would be
happy to meet with you to discuss this further.”
Unfortunately, Baroness Smith’s response: “the level 2 hair professional occupational standard was updated in 2023” etc, etc., refers to the qualification embedded in the Hair Professional Standard, that is, the apprenticeship. Similar for comment on Level 3 , the Advanced Professional Standard. She effectively avoids dealing with the issue with regard to Level 2 & 3 diplomas for college students. (As I guess most readers will know, the hairdressing apprenticeship in England includes a level 2 diploma).
The simple explanation is that the hairdressing level 2 diplomas as offered by qualifications bodies including VTCT, qualifi and City and Guilds, were released back in 2015 and haven’t been updated since. (The diplomas included in the Standard aka apprenticeship were published in 2017 and appear to be based on the 2015 versions). So the obvious question is, when exactly will the qualifications organisations get round to bringing their diplomas into the 21st century? (And of course its not only about textured and Afro hair, some colleges are still training students to do cap highlights!).
Frankly, this situation is inexcusable and its good to know that the British Beauty Council are following up. On the immediate practical side, it is of course not the fault historically of so many qualified hairdressers that they weren’t trained in textured hairdressing skills either at college or during their apprenticeship back in the day. However there is no longer really any excuse for experienced hairdressers who lack this skill set, to carry on and accept the appalling situation they find themselves in, never mind their potential clients. CPD training in Afro,textured and curly,coily hair is now widely available.
Including by Anne who offers an “Introduction to textured hair” aka “Afro for Beginners” course. Do contact her about this on 07525498903 and email her at anne@anneveckhair.com. More about Anne Veck Education here.