The British Beauty Council (BBCo) has launched a UK government-backed programme to promote beauty careers to secondary school students in England.
The Future Talent Programme aims to “nurture a steady pipeline of talent into the beauty industry” by inspiring young people in the most formative years of their education (11-18).
This is the first dedicated beauty-related resource for secondary schools, which demonstrates the careers available across the beauty and STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) sectors.
The programme is backed by the Department for Education, The Careers & Enterprise Company and STEM Learning.
A series of short films have been created with influencers popular with Gen Z, such as Jamie Genevieve, Plastic Boy and The Welsh Twins, to showcase the diversity of careers.
These cover areas such as cosmetics science, sustainability, fragrance and technology.
“Whether it is product formulation, sustainable packaging innovation, website design, supply chain efficiency or the various careers in-between, personal care could not exist without STEM experts,” said the BBCo.
Currently, only 33% of 10-13-year-olds aspire to develop a STEM career, reported BBCo.
BBCo CEO Millie Kendall said: “As a young person, I never knew of the abundant and fulfilling careers available in the beauty and cosmetics industry.
“I worked as a hairdresser and only by trial and error did I end up with the colourful career I have managed to create.
“We want this programme to fast track young people towards suitable career options, ensuring we have a seamless flow of talent.”
When will the Future Talent Programme be rolled out?
The Future Talent Programme launched at No.10 Downing Street on 6 February to mark the beginning of the UK’s National Apprenticeship Week 2023.
It will be seeded out via The Careers Hub Network to schools across England.
Tech giant Meta is supporting the programme’s digital advertising, while media company JCDecaux is handling the out-of-home ads.
The Future Talent films were made with funding from beauty giants Estée Lauder Companies, L’Oréal, No7 Beauty Company, Superdrug, Deciem and The Fragrance Foundation.
In the future, the programme will explore even more career areas within beauty, such as marketing, communications, buying and merchandising.
A Beauty STEM Ambassador Programme is also in the pipeline.
This involves industry leaders visiting schools to share their story, expertise and career advice to any young person thinking about undertaking a career in the industry.
The hair and beauty industry supports 600,000 jobs and contributes almost £30 billion to the British economy.
Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, commented: “From hair products to skin care, the beauty industry is a huge part of our daily lives, but its importance is more than skin deep.
“The industry is worth billions to our economy and, as the Future Talent Programme will demonstrate, offers a great route for young people to launch careers in science and technology.
Paul Scully MP, Minister for Technology and Digital Economy, added: “A career in beauty tech really is open to everybody.
“The potential that tech has to offer the beauty sector is unmatched with developments like artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse and NFTs, providing tech opportunities for STEM graduates.
“This is an incredibly exciting industry to be a part of and we want as many young people as possible to be involved in its overwhelming success.”
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