Home

News

December 2011
Habia Review

Habia, the standards setting body for the hairdressing and beauty industry have launched a comprehensive review of all hair and beauty qualifications.

The review takes the form of a questionnaire allowing those delivering hair and beauty qualifications across the whole of the UK to comment on every individual level and unit of NVQs and, in Scotland, SVQs. Please note that VRQs are also covered but these will be of little interest to most centres. The survey results will be used to inform the development of the content and structure of all hair and beauty qualifications in the near future. This is an excellent opportunity for educators and assessors involved with the delivery of NVQs (SVQs in Scotland) to influence the direction that hairdressing qualifications are taking and we urge you to take part in this important survey.

The questionnaire is available on the Habia website at www.habia.org/aosurvey Centres are not expected to complete the entire questionnaire, only the parts relevant to them. The Habia review ends on 31 January 2012.

November 2011
ERR - Changes for all New Starters England

 As previously reported, under the new Specification of Apprenticeship Standards in England (SASE) the mandatory Employment Rights and Responsibilities (ERR) part of the programme has changed and there are now nine parts to ERR rather than the eight parts previously required. Please note this only affects new apprentices registered after 27 June 2011. We are currently working at updating the ERR module on the Cheynes Training website so that it fully meets the new nine part requirement and the updated ERR will be available very shortly. In the meantime please could we ask all centres to not ask anyone registered on the programme after 27 June to take the ERR? Your help with this would be greatly appreciated. Candidates registered before 27th June 2011 will continue to provide the required evidence as at present by completing the ERR Visa and having this signed off by a qualified assessor.

October 2011
Cheynes Training Photographic Competition - The Winner

We are pleased to announce that Florence Unitt of Cullen & Co is the winner of the 2011 Cheynes Training Photographic Competition. Florence is a student at the Cheynes Training academy in London’s West End and her principle tutor, Jon Redman commented “Flo is a really talented young hairdresser and the look she did for this picture is really outstanding for a young person on an Intermediate Apprenticeship”. The judges for the competition, Leslie Spears, founder of Three-Six-Five Day Hairdressing and inspiration behind Joy Limited, distributors of Morrocanoil; Desmond Murray, top hair photographer and Hairdressing Journal’s 2009 Men’s Hairdresser of the Year; and Paul Adamczuk, International Creative Director for Cheynes, all awarded maximum marks to the winning entry. Florence will now be presented with an iPad 2 for achieving first place. Congratulations also to our two runners up, 2nd place in the competition went to Alex Carr from Cheynes, Edinburgh and 3rd place to Charlotte Connor from Coco’s, Maidenbower. Programme Director for Cheynes Training, William Howarth said “It is so good to see so much talent on the Cheynes Training apprenticeship programme and credit must go to not just the individuals concerned but their employers, their salon team and the people who train these extraordinarily gifted young people”. For more information please contact Tricia Thomson, Cheynes Training, on 0131 476 7100 or email tricia@cheynestraining.com

September 2011
Habia and 'The Big Conversation'

Habia has launched the most detailed and authoritative skills survey of the hair, beauty, nails and spa industries in over five years, with top prizes up for grabs for those who take part. The questionnaire for the Habia Skills survey is now live at http://www.habia.org/bigconversation/%20Habia’s surveys are the only ones to that are used by the government when it comes to training and funding issues, meaning your voice is heard by the decision makers. Please could you complete the survey and also pass on thelink to as many of your education team as is possible for them to complete too, respondents will be entered into our prize draw to win one of the prizes that Habia are offering. Habia have £1000 worth of skills team training up for grabs. You can follow Habia: The Big Conversation on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Habia_SSB%20or by using the hashtag #habiabigconversation

Alternatively, go to www.facebook.com/HabiaUK

August 2011
Requesting Payments from Candidates

We have had a very strong reminder from the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) - and exactly the same rules apply to Skills Development Scotland (SDS) - about requesting payment from Candidates for any part of the apprenticeship programme. This is strictly forbidden under the terms of the contract that Cheynes Training holds with SFA (and SDS), so much so that the authorities have been known to withdraw funding from any centre guilty of this practice. It is for this reason Cheynes Training also includes a clause in our Training Agreement that makes it very clear that this is not acceptable practice. For further information on this subject contact William Howarth on 0131 476 7100 or by email at william@cheynestraining.com

July 2011
IFL Reduces Fees

In a widely expected move, the Institute for Learning (IfL) has announced it is reducing its fees. IfL now say that the £68 membership fee is now extended to cover a period of two years! Members are also given the opportunity to pay an annualised fee of £38.

Following discussions with trade unions, employers government, a number of agreements have been reached regarding membership of IfL. The full statement issued by IFL setting out the agreements reached and the progress is on the Institute for Learning website at http://www.ifl.ac.uk/

In the statement, IfL say that it has amended its fees for 2011/12 and 2012/13 on the basis of agreed transitional funding from the government, and will offer members an extension of the period covered by the £68 fee to two years for those members who have already renewed and paid their membership for 18 months from 1 April 2011. Other members who renew for the period up to 31 March 2013 have the opportunity to pay an annualised fee of £38 for 2011/12 and £38 for 2012/13, with a guarantee that the annual fee will not be higher than £68 in 2013/14. IfL are also introducing anew reduced fee level for individuals earning £16,000 a year or less.

IfL have also further clarified the scope of IfL membership with regard to ‘occasional teachers’ who are not subject to the regulations and therefore not required to be members of IfL. The definition of an ‘occasional teacher’ is anyone who is teaching for no more than 28 hours in a year (for example, 2 hours per week for no more than 14 weeks a year).

The definition of an associate teacher has also been clarified by BIS. Associate teachers are subject to existing regulations but it is recognised that there has been confusion about the definition of an associate teacher, and the scope may have been assumed by some to be wider than in fact is the case. 

 June 2011
Equality and Diversity 

We are delighted to announce the launch of our brand new Equality & Diversity on-line training module. Equality forms an increasingly important aspect of the apprenticeship landscape and here at Cheynes Training we were determined to bring an on-line version similar in approach to the ERR module. The result is a very easy to follow training module and we now request that all centres ask their educator teams and their Candidates to complete. To access the new E&D module, log onto the Cheynes Training website and navigate to the Candidate Zone. The E&D button is located on the menu bar near the top of the page; it is situated between Health & Safety and Every Candidate Matters. Simply click on E&D and this will take you straight to the introduction to the module. For more information on the E&D module, e-mail sarah@cheynestraining.com or call 0131 476 7100

May 2011
National Minimum Wages Rates for October

A new minimum wage rate was approved by the government when they accepted the independent Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendations for this year’s National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates.

As a result, the following rates will come into effect on 1 October 2011:

  • The adult rate will increase by 15p to £6.08 an hour
  • The rate for 18-20 year olds will increase by 6p to £4.98 an hour
  • The rate for 16-17 year olds will increase by 4p to £3.68 an hour
  • The rate for apprentices will increase by 10p to £2.60 an hour

A complete breakdown of the new NMW rates may be found on the Employer downloads section.

Business Secretary Vince Cable has said that "More than 890,000 of Britain’s lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes. They are appropriate - reflecting the current economic uncertainty while at the same time protecting the UK’s lowest-paid workers.”

As announced in the Budget the Government will invite the LPC in its next report to consider the best way to give business greater clarity on future levels of the National Minimum Wage, including consideration of two-year recommendations. This could provide greater certainty for businesses, reduce risks and help them plan employment and investment decisions.

April 2011
2010/11 Photographic Competition

Details of the Cheynes Training 2011 photographic competition are being finalised and will be announced in the May edition of e-Update. This year there will be two entry categories, for Level Two apprentices and for Level Three advanced apprentices; the two overall winners of the competition will each receive a fabulous prize of a brand new Apple i-Pad. Entries for the competition will be accepted from May though to July with the entries being judged in August and September and the two winners announced in the October 2011 edition of e-Update To be eligible, those entering the competition must have been registered on an apprenticeship programme at some point between 1st April and 31st July 2011. One important point to remember is that we are not expecting those entering to have their work snapped by a professional photographer. Digital cameras allow very high quality pictures to be taken and we will accept up to three pictures from each entrant, although we will only place one on the website for our judges to look at. So please let your Candidates know about the competition and let’s get as many people involved as possible in the 2011 event!

March 2011
Cheynes Training Programme Conference

On Wednesday 2nd March we held our spring Programme Conference at the Hilton Hotel, Gatwick Airport. It is at this event that we update all of our team about new developments and the ‘direction of travel’ that vocational education in general, and our programme in particular, is taking. Of course, this year we are entering a period of incredible change as the coalition government starts to implement the decisions it made when it took power almost a year ago. The Spring Conference looked at many of these changes in detail to ensure that the team are completely up-to-speed. The next Programme Conference will be held in the autumn and we do have space for guests so any salon owner or Head of Centre who would like to attend should speak to their Regional Training Advisor.

February 2011
The Institute for Learning (IfL) and trainers, tutors and teachers in England

We are extremely disappointed to report that contrary to what we earlier understood, the Institute for Learning will, after all, start charging IfL members a membership fee in 2011. We were originally led to believe it would be next year that membership fees would be introduced. IfL members will shortly receive information about the fee structure which IfL say will be £68 for a total of 18 months membership. IfL also point out that the fee is fully tax deductable so the true cost will be £54.50 or £36.33 per annum. Unfortunately, the rules regarding those who regularly teach on an apprenticeship programme remain and must register with IfL. Anyone who commenced a teaching role after to September 2007 also needs to complete the Certificate in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (P/CTLLS). We are currently discussing this development with the Skills Funding Agency and we will be back in touch at the end of February with an update.

Coming Soon - Level Three Scholarships

In March we will be bringing news of a new initiative that Cheynes Training will be pioneering, the introduction of Level Three Scholarships. This revolutionary approach is designed to reward young people who excel whilst completing their Level Two apprenticeship and who wish to progress onto an advanced apprenticeship. Sadly, the new initiative is only available in England.

January 2011
The Learner Views Survey

The Skills Funding Agency is about to launch a very short on-line questionnaire survey about apprenticeship training - called the Learner Views Survey - which will be conducted by Ipsos-Mori. All learners who are currently on an apprenticeship programme – and those who have most recently completed – will be asked to take part; they will have until 27 May to complete the survey and, although this seems quite a long way off, we are keen to get everyone to complete the questions as early as possible. The survey is a very important way of the individual salon, Cheynes Training and the Skills Funding Agency obtaining feedback on apprenticeship training so we urge you to encourage all of your Candidates to set aside a few minutes to complete the survey. We don’t believe in wasting anyone’s time and we would certainly not ask your apprentices to complete the survey if it was not important to us. We are writing to all centres with details of how each Candidate can access the on-line survey, this will be a sheet of paper that contains step-by-step instructions on how to complete the questions. We will also publish the results of the Learner Views Survey on the Cheynes Training website and send you a copy as soon as the results are available

December2010
The Employer Views Survey

The Skills Funding Agency is about to launch a survey about apprenticeship training, the survey will be conducted by Ipsos-Mori. All employers who employ apprentices who are receiving government supported training will be contacted over the period from 1st January to 31st March and asked to take part in the survey which is entitled the ‘Employer Views’ survey. The subject of the survey is your satisfaction with Cheynes Training. You will be contacted either by email or post and asked to complete the survey which is a very important way of Cheynes Training and the Skills Funding Agency obtaining feedback of your views on apprenticeship training. We appreciate that all employers are busy people but we urge you to set aside a few minutes of your time to complete the survey. We don’t believe in wasting your time and we would certainly not ask you to complete the survey if it was not very important to us. We will publish the results of the Employers Views survey and send you a copy as soon as the results are available.

Apprenticeship Vacancy Matching Service

As noted in the September issue of ETB it has taken a little while to get established but the government’s new Apprenticeship Vacancy Matching Service (AVMS) has now been fully introduced. The aim of the AVMS is to help employers to find the right apprentices for their business. Cheynes Training is actively working with AVMS and we would like to offer our help with your plans if you are experiencing any difficulties with recruiting new apprentices. To find out more about AVMS go to: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/employers.aspx and if you need any further information on how Cheynes Training may help with AVMS please contact Tricia on 0131 476 7100 or at tricia@cheynestraining.com

October 2010
Cuts to Apprenticeship Funding

The initial reaction from the vocational learning sector to the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) is pretty downbeat. Although it will take some time for all of the fine detail to trickle through, the big picture given by chancellor George Osbourne indicates that funding for apprenticeships will be reduced from the current £4.3 billion p/annum down to £3.2 billon in 2014/15, a cut of 25% over the four years. When inflation is taken into account, however, the cuts are likely to be nearer 33% in real terms. We will, however, await the details of how this will affect hairdressing before we fine tune our response to the funding challenge.

The Comprehensive Spending Review

The initial reaction from the vocational learning sector to the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) is pretty downbeat. Although it will take some time for all of the fine detail to trickle through, the big picture given by chancellor George Osborne indicates that funding for apprenticeships will be reduced from the current £4.3 billion p/annum down to £3.2 billon in 2014/15, a cut of 25% over the four years. When inflation is taken into account, however, the cuts are likely to be nearer 33% in real terms. We will, however, await the details of how this will affect hairdressing before we fine tune our response to the funding challenge. Where this leaves smaller training providers is unclear. The government has already committed to reducing the overall number of training providers and is introducing minimum contract values (MCV) of, we expect, £500,000 from next year. This, and the reductions in funding, is bound to lead to a ‘shake out’ in the sector leading to fewer training providers delivering apprenticeships over the next couple of years or so. Fortunately, Cheynes Training has anticipated much of the change that is now taking place and we have positioned ourselves in such a way that the effects of the MCV and the reduced funding – although unwelcome – will not have a critical impact. We will, of course, be tightening our belt in the same way as every one else but we are totally confident that we are extremely well placed to continue to deliver great service and support to all of the salons we work so closely with. In fact, we see this as a possible opportunity to attract even more high quality salons to our programme and therefore strengthen or position even further. The message from the chancellor is quite clear: a) get bigger and get better, or b) disappear. We have chosen to run with a). For further information on how Cheynes Training will cope with the changes taking place following the comprehensive spending review please contact william@cheynestraining.com

September 2010
Photographic Competition 2010 - Change of Dates

Following a number of requests from salons, the date of the Cheynes Training annual photographic competition is moving to Spring 2011. This gives Candidates on the programme even more time to prepare that super shot and maybe win some computer equipment for themselves and for the salon!

August 2010
Functional Skills Delayed to March 2011

In a warmly welcomed statement, the government minister responsible for apprenticeships, John Hayes MP, has announced a delay in the introduction of Functional Skills in England until April 2011. As a result, the existing Key Skills programme will now be extended for a further six months before it is replaced by Functional Skills.

We have covered what Functional Skills are in earlier e-Update and ETB publications, but as a reminder, Functional Skills are an approach to basic skills that includes making sure that all young people involved in an apprenticeship programme are able to evidence that they can meet minimum levels of performance in:

  • English
  •  Information and Computer Technology
  •  Mathematics

Functional Skills form part of the government’s aim of increasing the basic skills of all young people and the new programme has been designed to stretch the abilities of young people slightly further than the current Key Skills programme; as a result, we believe that each Functional Skill is at least half a level higher than the current equivalent Key Skill.

June 2010
Thinking of A1/A2 or PTLLS?

It has just come to our attention that some grants have become available for owner managers or ‘key directors’ of organisations in all regions of England who have under 250 staff. These grants are open to all types of businesses.

  • The first £500 is available to the managing director, owner manager, or one key company director and does not need to be matched.
  • A further grant of up to £500, which must be matched funded, is available to either the beneficiary of the first £500 or any senior manager or the management team.
  • All training must have started and the grant claimed within 90 days of the grant being approved.

All grants are exclusive of VAT and can be used for any kind of leadership and management development provided by training providers – including A1 and PTLLS – and delivered by attending workshops, online training, training programmes or bespoke/tailored training options.

Please see information sent to you and contact tricia@cheynestraining.com with any questions

April 2010
Learning and Skills Council Ceases Operations

On 31st March, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) ceased operations and its role has now been taken over by two successor organisations but from the point of view of our programme, the new body we will be contracting with is the Skills Funding Agency

The Skills Funding Agency is an agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and its main role is to fund and regulate adult Further Education and skills training in England. The mission of the SFA is to ensure that people and businesses can access the skills training they need to succeed in playing their part in society and in growing England’s economy.

March 2010
Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted have confirmed that the inspection of our England based apprenticeship programme is scheduled for Monday 12th to Friday 16th April. The team of inspectors will visit locations throughout all parts of the country.

As you may know, it is Ofsted that chooses the actual locations to visit; we have no influence. However, we have to make some provisional plans so please couldwe ask that all Heads of Centre check their diaries and be prepared to allocate some time on your normal training day in the week in question? If Ofsted does choose to visit your salon it will most likely be on a training day.

We should have a very good idea of the exact schedule and locations after our planning meeting with the Ofsted lead inspector which we hope to arrange around the middle of March. Again, we will keep you fully informed of progress.

Finally, we should add that here at Cheynes Training we look forward to inspection. Although the process is a little stressful, each of the previous three inspections we have experienced have taught us so much and have helped to move our programme forward. We are sure the forthcoming event will be equally rewarding.

February 2010
Safeguarding - Cheynes Responsibilities

This is a reminder that as part of our legal and contractual obligations Cheynes Training takes on the responsibility for ensuring that effective safeguarding of Candidates under the age of 18 is taking place.

We keep safeguarding issues under constant review and this is in keeping with our commitment that all those involved in a teaching, training or assessing role must sign up to our safeguarding ‘code of conduct’ arrangements. We will be contacting all salons during February withy more information on this initiative.

January 2010
Apprenticeship Vacancy Matching Service

A new service has been introduced to help employers find the right apprentices for their business, the new service is called the Apprenticeship Vacancy Matching Service (AVMS). Cheynes Training is actively working with AVMS and we would urge you to let us know if you are experiencing any difficulties with recruiting new apprentices.