A skills gap analysis of hairdressing in Australia – an occupation in

demand or a demanding occupation?

Labour Supply and Skills Branch

Research Analysis and Evaluation Group
August 2009
Contents

Introduction 1

Purpose and Methodology 1

Hairdressing – an occupation in shortage 2

1. Overview of the hairdressing industry 3

2. The labour market for hairdressers 3

Employment Growth
Skilled Vacancies
Earnings

3. The labour market supply for hairdressers 8

Entry
Existing Workers
Training
International Student Enrolments
Permanent Residency Pathways
Migration Trends and Issues in Hairdressing
Impact of MODL on Hairdressing
Is there a gap between supply and demand for hairdressers?

4. Conclusion 16

Attachments 18

Attachment 1: Industry Interviews (Hairdressing Employers, Former Hairdressers,

Service Skills Australia)

Attachment 2: Pathways to Permanent Residency

References 28
A skills gap analysis of hairdressing in Australia – an occupation in demand or a
demanding occupation?

Introduction

In Australia, shortages of tradespeople have been reported for many years across
almost all trade occupations, including hairdressing, food, metals, automotive,
electrical, construction and horticulture. Skill shortages are most common at times of
high economic growth and low unemployment. However, they can also occur in
regions of high unemployment where there is a mismatch between the skills available
and the skills demanded. Shah and Burke (2003) define skill shortages as existing
when the “demand for workers for a particular occupation is greater than the supply of
workers who are qualified, available and willing to work under existing market
conditions.”

There are two related concepts that often get confused when skill shortages are
discussed. One is more accurately described as a ‘recruitment difficulty’, where a
business finds it difficult to fill a specific vacancy, even though there is not an
identified broader skill shortage. This may be due to the characteristics of the
business, the location or the skill set required for the position. The second related
concept is a ‘skills gap’ which occurs when existing staff do not have the skills
required for the positions they occupy.

Some of the main causes of skill shortages are:

• Training shortfalls - the number of people entering training is less than the number
required to fill available positions.
• Wastage - while people are trained in a skill, many do not work in that occupation.
• Migration - an increasingly globalised labour market means skilled workers such
as hairdressers can often readily find employment in other countries.
• Workforce exits - people leaving the workforce.

Individuals’ willingness to seek employment outside the skills set they acquire
through training or education, while in many ways a benefit to both the labour market
and individuals, can often also result in skills shortages.

Purpose and Methodology

This paper aims to bring together and analyse a range of available, up-to-date data
about the labour market for hairdressers in Australia. It is hoped this will facilitate
further discussion within DEEWR, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
(DIAC) and other government agencies about the ongoing inclusion of hairdressing
on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL). The paper highlights key
variables that influence or underpin the demand for and supply of hairdressing skills
and provides a framework for identifying these factors. To the extent possible, it
quantifies relevant variables and offers a forward looking perspective on Australia’s
future skill needs for hairdressers.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 1

Overall, the paper examines issues surrounding the supply of and demand for
hairdressers during the period 1998-2008 by:
• examining historical data about the demand for hairdressers,
• examining historical data about the supply of hairdressers and
• analysing trends in the gaps between the demand for and the supply of labour in
this trade.

Data were obtained from several sources: a) DEEWR surveys and administrative data
b) telephone interviews with hair salon employers and discussions with Service Skills
Australia (the Industry Skills Council for the hairdressing industry) regarding their
views and perceptions of the skills needs of the industry, c) interviews with former
hairdressers regarding their experiences, motivations for leaving the industry and
incentives that would encourage them to return and d) other research. Attachment 1
summarises findings from the interviews and discussions with employers, former
hairdressers and Service Skills Australia.

Hairdressing – an occupation in shortage?

The trade occupation of Hairdressing 1 is reported by DEEWR as having been in

shortage 2 for a number of years, despite a range of government and industry policy
responses to address this. One such response has been to include this occupation on
DIAC’s Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) (now being supplemented
by the Critical Skills List (CSL)) to encourage individuals with these skills or who are
intending to get training in these skills to come to Australia. Hairdressing has been
listed on the MODL since 2001, however it is not included on the CSL.

Research suggests that MODL listing of occupations has in recent years resulted in a
marked increase in overseas student commencement rates in hairdressing courses
offered by Australian Registered Training Providers and in people entering Australia
with these skills. However, Birrell et al (2007) 3 contend that this increase does not
seem to have made a significant impact on skills shortages in this occupation, rather
that individuals are taking advantage of the MODL as an ‘immigration loophole’ to
gain entry to and obtain permanent residency in Australia, without ever working or
intending to work in this occupation once they have obtained the relevant
qualifications.

1 The hair dressing industry includes the occupations of hairdresser, hairdressing salon assistant, salon owners, and
apprentice hairdressers. The National Hairdressing Training Package covers all the skills required to work in the
hair dressing industry and includes qualifications from Certificate 3 to Diploma. 
2
The methodology used by DEEWR to determine shortages includes national surveys and interviews with
employers advertising vacant positions - they consistently report ongoing difficulty in recruiting suitable/sufficient
candidates to fill these vacancies.
3
The data analysis presented in the Birrell article raises some questions that are relevant to education and training
issues. Some of the conclusions and inferences drawn, however, are not based on evidence presented (and appear
to be anecdotal or ‘as reported’) or are not as clear-cut as suggested.

 
 

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 2

1. Overview of the hairdressing industry

Hairdressers may perform tasks such as:

• consulting with clients to discuss requirements,
• providing advice on hair care, beauty products and hairstyles,
• shampooing hair and conditioning scalps,
• colouring, straightening and permanently waving hair with chemical solutions,
• cutting hair with scissors, clippers and razors,
• styling hair into dreadlocks and braids and adding hair extensions,
• shaving and trimming beards and moustaches,
• cleaning work areas and sanitising instruments,
• arranging appointments and collecting payments and
• cleaning, colouring, cutting and styling wigs and hairpieces.

The majority of hairdressers are employed in commercial hairdressing salons. Most

salons employ between four and six people, although some salons employ a much
larger number of hairdressers. Most salons also employ apprentices.

Hairdressing is characterised by the relative youth of the workforce in the industry

and the transient nature of employment. The majority of employees in the
hairdressing industry are under 35 years of age. Hairdressers have a below average
proportion of full-time jobs (63 per cent). For hairdressers working full-time, average
weekly hours are 38.6 (compared to 41.8 for all occupations) and weekly earnings are
low ($560 before tax) compared to all other occupations ($940). Hairdressers are
employed across several industries including: Other Services; Health Care and Social
Assistance; Transport, Postal and Warehousing; and Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
(Job Outlook, 2008).

2. The labour market for hairdressers

Demand for personal services such as hairdressing is generally considered to be

determined by the state of the economy and individuals’ level of disposal income.
Identifying the reasons for ongoing hairdressing vacancies is problematic as it is not
possible to gauge accurately whether a real skills shortage exists (i.e. demand exceeds
supply), whether qualified hairdressers are available but choosing not to apply for
these jobs, or whether employers are choosing not to fill these vacancies as applicants
may not have the desired skills or for other reasons. Possible explanations are
discussed in the following sections.

Employment growth: ABS labour force figures for 2008 suggest that an average of
60 914 hairdressers are currently employed in Australia. Over the last few years
demand for hairdressers has been increasing, with employers continually stating there
is a strong demand for fully qualified and experienced hairdressers to fill high
vacancy levels (Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised (SERA), 2008).

Figure 1 reflects the demand for hairdressers over the last 12 years. It can be seen that
while employment levels have been rising overall, this has declined since mid 2008.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 3

 Figure 1: Trends in hairdressing (1997- 2009)
12 Year Employment Level Time Series
Hairdressers
70

60
Employed Persons ('000s)

50

40

30

20

10

0
4

9
1

6
7

00

00

00

00
00

00

00

00

00
99

99

99

00

-2

-2

-2

-2

-2

-2
-2

-2

-2
-1

-1

-1

-2

ay
ay

ay

ay

ay

ay
ay

ay

ay
ay

ay
ay

ay

M
M

M
M

Source: DEEWR trend data

The following table shows the overall increase in demand for hairdressers in
Australia, with employment growth of 38 per cent from 1998 - 2008 (44 095 to 60
914).

Table 1: Percentage change in growth – hairdressing 1999-2008

Year Annual %
change
1999 5.50
2000 4.04
2001 -2.75
2002 5.49
2003 2.92
2004 -3.09
2005 11.46
2006 0.44
2007 5.29
2008 4.35
Source: ABS Labour Force data

Figure 2 below (Job Outlook, 2008) shows projected job growth (per cent) of at least
2.2 per cent over the next five years to 2013, compared to related occupations.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 4

 Figure 2: Projected Job Growth (per cent pa)

Source: Job Outlook, 2008

Skilled Vacancies: DEEWR’s newspaper based Skilled Vacancies Index (SVI) data
(Figure 3) indicates considerable swings over the past 10 years in the number of
vacancies advertised for hairdressers. In 1998, 2031 vacancies were advertised;
vacancies peaked at 2352 in 2000 and fell from 2006 onwards to its lowest at 1379 in
2008.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 5

 Figure 3: Skilled Vacancy Index for hairdressers 1998-2008
3000

2500

2000
Vacancy count

1500

1000

500

0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year

The SVI is released monthly. The Index is based on a count of skilled vacancies in major
metropolitan newspapers in each State and the Northern Territory, usually on the first
Saturday of each month..

Several reasons for this drop in advertised vacancies can be surmised: it may be the
result of a decrease in spending on personal services resulting in less need to fill
vacancies when they occur; employers becoming discouraged by the lack of suitable
responses to their advertising and so not continuing to advertise; or simply a reflection
of the overall weakening of the economy. For instance, DEEWR’s SERA data, 2008
reveals that 35 per cent of surveyed employers were able to fill their vacancies within
four weeks of advertising (see Table 2).

Table 2: Vacancy fill rate

Hairdressers 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09

Fill Rates 36% 42% 35% 35%

Suitable per vacancy 0.3 1.0 0.8 0.7
Applicants Per Vacancy 2.7 2.6 2.8 3.0
Source: SERA, 2008

Most employers interviewed at this time did not receive any suitable applicants,
despite advertising more than once. Several employers stated that they had received
applications from overseas candidates: however, they did not have the required
qualifications or experience to be considered for sponsorship to Australia. A number
of employers in small towns and rural areas also suggested that effects of the drought
and other economic factors were impacting on their businesses at this time, with
customers starting to cut back on personal expenditure.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 6

It must also be borne in mind that the decrease in the SVI in recent years does not
fully reflect demand for the hairdressing occupation. This is because the SVI does not
reflect all hairdressing vacancies, but captures only advertised full-time, permanent
vacancies in major metropolitan newspapers. As Table 3 indicates, employment in
the hairdressing industry is increasingly made up of part time workers - and
advertisements for part time positions are not represented in the SVI.

Table 3: Number of employed hairdressers per year (annual average)

Employed Employed Part Employed
Year Full-Time Time Total
1998 30 217 13 878 44 095
1999 31 995 14 525 46 520
2000 33 641 14 760 48 401
2001 30 621 16 447 47 068
2002 33 897 15 757 49 654
2003 33 787 17 318 51 105
2004 32 316 17 211 49 526
2005 36 813 18 388 55 201
2006 37 794 17 648 55 442
2007 36 871 21 504 58 375
2008 38 382 22 532 60 914
Source: ABS Labour Force data

In May 2009, there was a major shift in monitoring the online job vacancies with the
Department commencing a new Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) based on vacancies
newly lodged on four online recruitment websites - SEEK, CareerOne, My Career and
Australian JobSearch. The IVI represents a major enhancement in monitoring the
online labour market, covering all occupations. It will provide important insights into
recent and emerging trends in labour demand. In 2006, there were 13 630
hairdressing vacancies advertised online increasing to 14 958 and 15 226 in 2007 and
2008 respectively.

Earnings: Employers in general have expressed difficulty in recruiting apprentices

and a tendency for some apprentices to leave the industry after a short period, due to
unattractive wages and long hours of work (Birrell et al 2007; DEEWR 2008). Those
employers contacted as part of this study commented on the changing work
expectations of new employees and apprentices over the years. One employer
commented, ‘No one wants to work from the bottom up, there’s a lot of work to be
done but no one wants to sweep floors or anything menial. Lots of staff have walked
out of jobs, taken time off when they want to...’. These accounts might at least partly
explain the difficulty that employers experience in attracting quality hairdressing
applicants.

Figure 4 shows weekly earnings both total and full-time - before tax - for workers of
all ages for this occupation, compared with all occupations. As can be seen, qualified
full-time hairdressers earn $380 a week less than those working full-time in all
occupations.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 7

 Figure 4: Weekly Earnings (before tax)

Source: Job Outlook, 2008

3. Labour market supply for hairdressers

Entry: This occupation generally requires the completion of a three year

apprenticeship and a Certificate III or higher in Hairdressing. On a national level, fast
track courses are being offered by some Registered Training Organisations (RTOs)
for a Certificate III in Hairdressing which can be completed within a year.

Existing workers: Data shows that many people who are qualified as hairdressers are
choosing not to work in this occupation. For example, the Census 2006 data indicate
that, of the 125 537 people qualified as hairdressers, at least 43 000 were working as
intermediate production and transport workers, elementary clerical, sales and service
workers or labourers; and only 34 958 were employed as hairdressers. Surveys and
other studies such as the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (2006),
Industry Training Demand Profile (2007) and DEEWR (2008) reveal a range of
reasons for staff attrition, including the generally transient nature of the industry;
some hairdressers’ preference to work from home because of child care and other
family responsibilities; a tendency within the occupation for younger staff, especially,
to change jobs in search of better employment conditions; a belief that hairdressing,
when compared to other trades (such as hospitality), has gone out of favour in recent
times, a perception that the hairdressing apprenticeship is too long; and a general
concern about the lack of or unappealing career pathways for hairdressers, including
low wages and difficult work conditions.

Once hairdressers leave the "commercial salon" sector of the hairdressing industry it
is uncommon for them to return. Evidence (DEEWR, 2008) suggests that, following
a period out of the industry, due to for example parental responsibilities, hairdressers
often express a lack of confidence in the currency of their skills which may prevent
them from returning to work in a salon. A view commonly expressed anecdotally is
that, by the time hairdressers who have left for family reasons want to return to the

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 8

workforce, they believe that hair fashions and styling techniques have changed, to the
extent that they would be unable to retain a position. This view was also somewhat
substantiated by this study as former hairdressers believed that, while they would be
able to work in a suburban salon offering basic haircutting services, it would be
difficult to secure a job in the trendier salons unless they refreshed their skills.

Training: On the training side, there has been a tremendous increase in student
demand for hairdressing courses. For instance the number of students in training
increased by 45 per cent from 9478 in 1998 to 13 749 in 2008 (Table 4). However,
the actual number of qualifications awarded appears to be very low, with only 3,005
qualifications being awarded in 2008. Attention needs to be drawn to this data which
contains some anomalies: providers only consider a student to have completed a
course when they collect their paper certificate. In many cases it seems that students
forget to collect their certificate and pick it up after a year or so, in which case they
are recorded as having completed their training in that year. Even allowing for this, it
does appear that completion rates are low (only around 20 per cent) – despite large
numbers enrolling in these courses, relatively few formally attain these qualifications.
While this might in some part explain why employers are having problems recruiting
qualified hairdressers, it also begs the question as to what happens to the larger
percentage of course enrolees who do not go on to attain these qualifications.

Table 4: Hairdressers in training

Year Enrolled Qualifications Qualifications
awarded awarded (%)
1998 9478 1738 18.3
1999 9654 2174 22.5
2000 10 183 2281 22.4
2001 10 349 2429 23.5
2002 10 519 2135 20.3
2003 10 851 1778 16.4
2004 11 607 1647 14.2
2005 12 487 2124 17.0
2006 13 045 2660 20.4
2007 13 593 3004 22.1
2008 13 749 3005 21.9
Source: NCVER apprentice and trainees collection, 2008.

It is clear that apprenticeship numbers in Australia have increased - employers

however report that it is not a matter of employers being unwilling to take on
apprentices but rather the difficulty is in keeping them throughout their apprenticeship
and beyond completion of their qualification. Indeed, as Table 4 above reveals,
despite rises in course enrolments, low course completion rates mean fewer qualified
hairdressers are available to address skills shortage.

International student enrolments: Hairdressing courses in Australia have become an

increasingly popular choice for overseas students (data is only available from 2002
and is not classified by age or gender). Figure 5 shows the rapid expansion in these
vocational education and training (VET) sector courses. As can be seen, between
2002 and 2004, international student growth was comparatively slow, rising from just
207 in 2002 to 715 students in 2004. It was only in 2005 that numbers took off –

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 9

increasing more than five fold, from 1516 to 8945 in 2008. Students from India and
China made up the bulk of student numbers in 2008 (2778 and 1821 respectively).

It could be argued that this growth reflects the intent of listing hairdressing on MODL
– to encourage more people with these skills to come to Australia or to study in
Australia and practise in this occupation to address skill shortages. However, some
commentators, such as Birrell et al (2007), point out that, although there has been a
marked increase in overseas students studying hairdressing, it remains an area of
ongoing skill shortage as measured by the number of advertised vacancies. Birrell et
al (2007) and increasing reports in the media have drawn attention to overseas
students using hairdressing in Australia as a loophole to gain permanent residency in
Australia. However, in the absence of data tracking international student movements
after they complete training, it is difficult to quantify to what extent these students do,
in fact, go on to practise in the occupation in which they have qualified.

What is also becoming clearer is that there is some evidence in this research, based on
discussions with employers and Service Skills Australia, that employers are not keen
on employing international students. This is because of the ‘institution based’
pathway generally taken by international students to train as hairdressers. Skills
developed by completing a full-time institution based program are regarded as inferior
to an apprenticeship with regular salon training and experience. Students entering
hairdressing via this institutional pathway are also perceived as not having enough
practical salon experience and are not considered to be serious about their vocation.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 10

 Figure 5: International enrolments in hairdressing

Numbers
10,000

9,000

8,000

7,000

6,000

5,000

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

0
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year

Source: Australian Education International Student Data, 2008.

Permanent Residency Pathways: Attachment 2 provides an example of the various

pathways that can be undertaken by an overseas student under the General Skilled
Migration (GSM) program to obtain Permanent Residency (PR). It is important to
bear in mind that there is no single set pathway to residency for international students,
as much is dependent on individual skills and other circumstances.

Applicants for PR under the GSM program are assessed against a points test, with
points awarded for attributes such as a skill appearing on the MODL list, age,
employment history and experience (see Table 5 for criteria included in the points
test). Before students doing trade courses can apply for PR, they also need to provide
documentary evidence that they have completed 900 hours of ‘work experience’.
Typically this may include evidence of payment in the form of statements of service,
payslips or group certificates. The documents are evaluated by Trades Recognition
Australia (TRA), the body that assesses trade qualifications and work experience.

However, increasingly there are widespread assertions that the desire for access to the
PR process has resulted in fraud by unscrupulous RTOs who provide false work
experience documents (Nick O'Malley, SMH, July 15, 2009; Sushi Das, The Age,
May 21, 2009). According to one media report, Ruth Browne, director of Pivot Point
International Academy (a hairdressing training provider) in Melbourne observed that
"It's a well-known fact within the international education industry that some
migration agents are providing documents for required working hours; students don't

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 11

even have to go to a salon to do it. " (The Australian, Elisabeth Wynhausen, July 26,
2008).

One of the difficulties in checking references is that the TRA allows ‘voluntary’ work
to count as work experience which allegedly has made it possible for some colleges
and migration agents to charge students for references stating they have completed the
900 hours.

Table 5: Criteria for the points test

Eligibility requirements Basic eligibility Number of points
requirements
Age 
English language ability 
Nominated skilled occupation 
Qualifications closely related to nominated  No points awarded
occupation
Skills assessment  No points awarded
Eligible visa  No points awarded
Location  No points awarded
Health  No points awarded
Character  No points awarded
Australian Values Statement  No points awarded
Specific work experience Points test only
Australian work experience Points test only
Australian qualifications Points test only
Occupation in demand/job offer Points test only
Community language Points test only
Regional Australia study Points test only
Partner skills Points test only
TOTAL POINTS:
Source: DIAC

In order to obtain a PR visa (there are many different categories of PR visas),

applicants need to meet the pass mark for that particular category. For instance, the
points ‘pass mark’ for international hairdressing students is 120. However, those who
do not meet the pass mark immediately following their studies and who wish to
pursue an onshore path to PR may apply for:
• visa sub-class 485 – a graduate visa that allows the holder to remain in
Australia for 18 months to gain skilled work experience or improve their English
language skills, or
• visa sub-class 487 – a regional sponsored visa that allows the holder to remain
in Australia for up to three years if living and working in a specified regional area, if
sponsored by an eligible relative or nominated by a participating State/Territory
government, or
• visa sub-class 457 – a temporary work visa that allows the holder to work in
Australia for a period of between three months and four years if nominated by an
eligible employer to fill a nominated position.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 12

Example 1:
• An individual from China who entered the country on a 572 (VET) student visa
to study hairdressing can later apply for a PR visa 885 (Skilled Independent -
residence) if they have fulfilled certain conditions, namely that they have met
the criteria for 2 years of study in Australia in the last 6 months and passed the
PR points test.
• However, if they don’t meet the above conditions they can apply for a 485
Skilled - Graduate temporary visa. This visa allows applicants who are
unable to pass the points test to remain in Australia for 18 months to gain the
skills and experience needed to apply for a permanent or provisional GSM visa.
No points test applies.

Example 2:
• Applicants not able to meet the Skilled – Independent pass mark, but who have
either a relative in Australia to sponsor them or a nomination from a State or
Territory government, can apply for a Skilled-Sponsored (residence) visa
(886). Applicants must pass a points test lower than that for the Skilled –
Independent visa (885).

Other pathways are also available to international students who return home after their
studies and apply for permanent residency from offshore (see Attachment 2).

Migration trends and issues in hairdressing: Net migration also provides a significant
contribution to the supply of hairdressers in Australia. Net migration is defined as the
difference between the number of people entering the country and the number leaving
it, either to settle permanently or in connection with a temporary visit of at least 12
months duration. DIAC data show that entry to this occupation through migration has
increased steadily over the past five years. In 2003-04 there were 498 arrivals,
growing annually to 1169 in 2007-08 (Figure 7). However in the absence of available
data it is unclear whether these migrants are employed in their home occupation, i.e.
hairdressing in Australia.

Some evidence suggests that employers prefer not to employ people from overseas
(those from a non-English speaking background anyway), complaining that few of
those trained overseas meet Australian employment market skills needs and that many
lack required English skills to converse with or understand their clients (DEEWR,
2008).

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 13

 Figure 7: Net migration of hairdressers 2003-08
1,400

1,200

1,000

800
Number

600

400

200

0
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08
Year

Source: DIAC administrative data collected by DEEWR

Impact of MODL on hairdressing: It is evident from the data presented in this paper
that continued MODL listing has increased the supply of hairdressers, however the
ultimate occupational destination of migrants and international students who come to
Australia with these skills or to get onshore training is unknown. Further research is
needed to understand the extent to which this cohort then go on to obtain PR without
working in this occupation.

Attention also needs to be drawn to the possibility that removing hairdressing from
MODL will have some impact on both the numbers of international students seeking
to study this course in Australia and some RTOs providing training in this area.
While MODL has never been intended as a pathway to PR, it seems that if there are
no MODL points attached to obtaining hairdressing skills, this will remove the
incentive for many potential students to enrol in hairdressing to boost their points and
so meet the ‘pass mark’ to obtain PR (and these views are increasingly being
expressed in the media). This is likely to result in hairdressing becoming a less
attractive study option, with fewer international students arriving in Australia. In
2008, international students made up a significant proportion (39 per cent) of the
student labour supply in hairdressing. Data also indicated that there were 193 RTOs
providing hairdressing training courses in the same period, of which 84 also provided
training to overseas students.

Is there a gap between supply of and demand for hairdressers?

As shown in this paper, there is an adequate pool of already qualified hairdressers or
people studying to be hairdressers available to fill vacant positions. The number of

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 14

domestic students in training has gone up by 45 per cent in the past decade (p.9) and
international students now make up 39 per cent of the potential hairdressing labour
supply. In 2008 there were 22 694 students (domestic and international) studying to
be hairdressers. Figure 6 shows that over the last three years, supply has exceeded the
demand for hairdressers, especially in 2007-08.

Based on the data presented in Figure 6, there does not seem to be a skill shortage in
the industry. However, when training completion rates are taken into account,
including the fact that employees do not stay in this occupation for a number of
reasons to do with labour market conditions and personal life path decisions, some
drop in supply numbers is to be expected. For instance, as previously mentioned (see
p.8), wastage 4 statistics based on the Census data 2006 show that there are people
qualified as hairdressers who are not working in this occupation, but working in areas
that do not require these skills, are unemployed or out of the labour force.

Figure 6: Hairdressers: demand and supply 2006-08, as shown by job

advertisements and student numbers
25000 Advertisements
Students

20000

15000
Number

10000

5000

0
2006 2007 2008

Note that advertisements include those counted in the SVI and IVI. There maybe be some
double counting if vacancies have been advertised both online and in newspapers. Students
include domestic and international.

As noted in discussions with employers and Service Skills Australia, the movement of
hairdressers to other occupations is not a unique phenomenon and occurs in all

4 Note that NCVER (2001, p.xxii) states that the notion of ‘wastage’ from the trades is a misnomer. Wastage is
concerned with separation from the trades for reasons of job mobility, retirement or unemployment. Much
wastage involves upwards job mobility, with many of those who leave moving to managerial or other similar
positions within their trades industry. Hence, the term ‘wastage’ does not capture the real nature of this
phenomenon.” 

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 15

occupations. The difference is the greater extent to which this happens in the
hairdressing industry.

The question then is what incentives (if any) would encourage former hairdressers to
return to their home occupation; and what action can be taken to reduce the wastage
of hairdressers? Although only a very small sample, former hairdressers interviewed
for this paper mentioned reasons for leaving similar to those generally acknowledged
as reasons for recruitment difficulties. That is, hairdressers by and large, leave their
trade because of unsatisfactory working conditions including low levels of pay,
inflexible working hours and the frustrations of dealing with the public. Those in
non-salon jobs interviewed for this research indicated no desire to return to
hairdressing – most were better paid in their new jobs and could not see conditions on
the salon floor including pay improving to the point where they would actively seek to
return. This combination of discouraging occupational elements - pay, hours of work
and client fatigue - does cast some doubt about the extent to which hairdressers can be
enticed back into the trade. Dealing with clients will always be an integral part of the
occupation and issues around working hours and pay have long been known but,
seemingly, never satisfactorily addressed.

4. Conclusion

This paper has drawn on various sources to examine the demand and supply of
hairdressers in Australia. It has been shown that, according to employers, hairdressers
are in demand but are difficult to recruit. This is despite the SVI showing a drop in
the number of vacancies advertised over the last 10 years. Data from SERA and other
research indicate that employers are finding it hard to hire people with the right skill
sets, there are issues associated with people staying in these jobs and that many
employers are reluctant to employ qualified migrants, asserting that these employees
lack good communication skills.

In a dynamic labour market, with millions of Australians changing their job each year,
it is not reasonable to expect an exact match between the available stock of skills and
those in demand. Nevertheless, the large number of domestic qualified hairdressers
working in other jobs, combined with international students who also do not appear to
have significantly addressed unmet demand, raises the question of whether
encouraging more people into hairdressing training is an adequate solution to
overcome persistent skill shortages in the longer term. The supply of hairdressers (in
employment and in training) does not appear to be meeting the demands of the
occupation. Analysis of data shows that the problem is not one of supply per se as
clearly, adequate numbers are enrolled (if not completing) hairdressing courses and it
must therefore be considered that other factors are at play.

It is apparent that even though the number of domestic students in training has
increased by 45 per cent in the last 10 years and international student enrolments are
also growing, there is still an imbalance between demand and supply. As this paper
points out, training completion rates are low and employees do not stay in this
occupation for a number of reasons connected with labour market conditions and
personal life path decisions.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 16

Continued MODL listing has clearly increased the supply of hairdressers. However,
whether the hairdressing occupation is the ultimate occupational destination of
migrants and international students who come to Australia using these MODL points
is doubtful. Removing hairdressing from MODL may influence both the numbers of
international students seeking to study this course in Australia and the capacity of
some RTOs to provide training in this area. Until recently, applications for PR visas
associated with MODL occupations such as hairdressing received priority processing
by immigration officials. However, a separate Critical Skills List (CSL) has now been
established for priority processing while a review of MODL is undertaken. It is
understood that processing of PR applications associated with occupations still on the
MODL, but not on the CSL, is likely to slow down significantly. This also has the
potential to affect the flow of international students to study hairdressing in Australia.

Finally, ‘wastage’ from the hairdressing trade is clearly also a core issue. As has been
demonstrated in this paper, a significant number of qualified hairdressers are
employed in occupations where their skills are not used - their qualifications are to a
large extent ‘wasted’. While training levels are a primary influence on prospective
skill shortages, the supply of skills also depends on the use of these skills throughout
working life.

A key issue is the extent to which these workers could be ‘enticed’ back into the
trades to help address skill shortages. While this study found that former hairdressers
were less likely to return to this occupation, this may not be the case uniformly.
There may be some scope for identifying job seekers with hairdressing qualifications,
including those on various forms of income support, and using employment services
to address any barriers to returning to the workforce. Strategies may include training
to bring specific hairdressing skills up-to-date or to enhance overall employability
skills. As noted above, many workers appear to move out of the hairdressing trade
because of the physical nature of the work, working environment and hours of work.
These considerations mean potential hairdressers across all age groups should be
targeted as part of any ‘return to trade’ approach.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 17

 Attachment 1

Industry Interviews

Hairdressing employers

Seven employers in Canberra were contacted as part of this project. The discussions
were conducted over the phone and lasted between 20 to 40 minutes. The main
reason for contacting employers was to gain an understanding of the issues facing
them to complement the quantitative data in the report.

The employers who were contacted owned small to medium businesses and had been
in the industry for a lengthy period of time – one employer had been in the
hairdressing trade for 43 years. All agreed that there was definitely a ‘skills shortage’
facing the industry, in as much as they found it difficult to recruit suitable staff.

Occupational demand
These employers observed that there is a demand for qualified hairdressers and
apprentices. At least two employers stated that at the present time they could do with
more staff to allow them to increase services to customers. Discussions showed that
while hairdressing positions are consistently advertised, not many people are applying
for these positions. The most common method of recruitment appeared to be
newspaper advertising, using seek.com and by word of mouth. Some employers even
made presentations to training colleges on career paths available to prospective
candidates in the hope of attracting eager students to their salons.

Reasons for demand

According to employers, positions remain vacant due to the difficulties in attracting,
recruiting and retaining new and existing staff. It was readily acknowledged that
hairdressing was a difficult trade involving stress in dealing with clients and physical
discomfort and poor remuneration compared to other occupations. The fact that it is a
female dominated occupation also raised issues because most women tended to leave
the occupation to raise a family. As one employer stated, ‘Once a hairdresser leaves
the industry, few come back – it’s not really a part time occupation as you can’t
complete everything by a fixed time.’

Similar problems were also experienced with apprentices. A common complaint was
that apprentices were likely to ‘crash and leave’ as they didn’t know what to expect in
the job and once they had brief experience, many decided it was too difficult and
simply didn’t return to their position. As employers consistently pointed out,
hairdressing is hard work with lots of time spent doing lowly tasks such as sweeping
floors, especially as an apprentice. A common refrain was that ‘apprentices don’t
show up to work they may come in to work one day but then never come back.’ The
implication being that apprentices were likely to quit their job without notice, if they
believed that salon tasks were too menial.

Occupational supply
All the employers seemed to think that hairdressers were in short supply, particularly in
Canberra. It appears that geographical location is very important (that is, whether a salon

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 18

was located in the suburbs or the city) as is access to and availability of other
occupations offering better wages and conditions. Employers pointed out that, in
Canberra, the ability to join the public service could be a big drain on supply – despite
their qualifications, hairdressers often tended to leave the occupation after a relatively
short period to go into the public service where they could be ‘paid more for less effort.’

Migrant workers/international students

Only one employer employed fully qualified migrant hairdressers. This employer was
quite happy with her staff and wished she could employ some more migrants. While
acknowledging that her migrant hairdressers did not speak English well, she said her
other staff assisted if problems were experienced with clients.

While none of the employers contacted employed foreign students, most were
sceptical of the value of international students studying hairdressing in Australia. A
common issue seemed to be that international students usually get their training via an
institutional pathway, rather than a traditional apprenticeship, meaning they were only
able to work at the salon one day a week. Employers were not interested in this
arrangement, preferring to use qualified staff or apprentices who can work
continuously through the week. One employer claimed that some international
students already held higher degrees from their home countries and used the
Australian training system to gain permanent residency, without ever intending to
work in this occupation.

Skills Training
Employers generally believed that hairdressing training standards and quality had
declined over the years. Deregulation of the training industry had meant that there were
private providers in the marketplace who let ‘incompetent’ trainees qualify without
ensuring that they had acquired the right competencies or skills. A need for external
assessors was commonly expressed.

Another commonly expressed view was that hairdressing as an occupation needs to be

marketed vigorously in schools and colleges.

Employment practices
Staff retention
A common concern was how to retain existing staff and attract new staff. All the
employers paid above award wages to try to keep their staff loyal and committed.
‘Treating staff with respect’ was a common theme in the discussions, with most
employers also pointing out that it was also important to be flexible and responsive to
employee requests.

Changing patterns in employment

Employers had noticed a definite change in behaviour of their young staff over the
last few years. There were many references to ‘generation Y who want it all’ without
giving anything back. All complained more generally about staff expectations – new
staff who don’t want to work their way up but expect to be quickly promoted, and
staff who wanted to pick and choose what they did in a busy salon. One employer
commented, ‘No one wants to work from the bottom up, there’s a lot of work to be
done but no one wants to sweep floors or anything menial ... Lots of staff have walked

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 19

out of jobs, taken time off when they want to go on holidays They feel they can do
this because of the public service.’

One employer noted that many hairdressers worked full-time in the public service
while also continuing to use their trade skills at home to a select clientele.

However, employers also observed changing behaviour among the general public.
Some comments were that ‘clients are getting more demanding and aggressive’ and
‘they know the value of what they should be getting for the price of a haircut or other
services.’ One employer commented that hairdressers often simply get tired of putting
up with aggressive clients after a few years, prompting them to look for other work.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 20

 Industry Interviews

Former Hairdressers
Six former hairdressers were initially contacted as part of this study through
advertisements placed in the Service Skills Australia newsletter and by word of
mouth. However, only two former hairdressers were interviewed for this study, as the
others did not get in touch with the interviewer. The purpose of interviewing former
hairdressers was to gain an understanding of their motivations in becoming
hairdressers, reasons for quitting the trade and incentives which would encourage
them to return.

Reasons for becoming a hairdresser

Both Ms A and Ms C started out as 16 year old apprentices and each have more than
17 years of experience in the industry. Ms A had an older sister who was a
hairdresser and had prior knowledge of what hairdressing would involve. She had no
illusion about the job and thought she would be good at it. Ms C ‘drifted’ into
hairdressing because she saw an apprenticeship being offered by a famous
hairdressing salon, applied for the position and was successful.

The decision to quit the industry

Ms A in her own words has ‘moved in and out of the industry for a long time but
always kept my hand in.’ According to both interviewees, no hairdresser stays in the
same job for a long time.

Ms A left because she had enough of hairdressing and wanted to travel, as the years
passed she had kids and ‘You get tired of the poor working conditions – poor pay,
long hours of work.’

Ms C left hairdressing because it all got too much for her – she didn’t want to interact
with customers as it was stressful and the working conditions were not good.

What next after hairdressing?

Ms A moved to Queensland and lived in the outback for some time where she was the
only hairdresser available – she had to work for long hours without much financial
benefits even though she worked in a salon. She quit and joined the Queensland
public service on a traineeship, starting right at the bottom of the ladder. She thinks it
is easy to get other jobs, if you are willing to go back to the basics and start at lower
levels. She currently works in an administrative role.

Ms C says she was lucky to be at the right place at the right time and was successful
in obtaining a job in a software company. She works in an educational role that is still
related to the hairdressing industry, designing hair products software to be used in
salons.

Ease in returning to the hairdressing industry?

According to Ms A it has been easy for her to get back into hairdressing every time
she has had a break from it, as she networks a lot and has contacts in the industry.
She also ‘keeps her hand in’ – she cuts hair for family and friends.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 21

Ms A also stated that she wouldn’t mind a job as a lecturer in hairdressing. She thinks
it would be cushy – ‘you don’t work so hard, just lecture and get public holidays,
work set times and earn $70,000.’ But she acknowledged it is also very difficult to get
these jobs, as people in the system do not leave.

Even though she has maintained her skills, if she decided to return to hairdressing she
thinks she would need to do a refresher course as methods have changed. She doesn’t
think it would be difficult to get a job as she has her networks and hairdressers are in
demand. Again, initially, it might be easier to get a job in a suburban salon, rather
than an upmarket city salon.

Ms C believes that it is easy to return to hairdressing even after a period of time –

however it depends on individuals’ skills. For example, similar to Ms A’s reasoning,
she thought that it would be easier to get a job in suburban salons than in city salons.

Both interviewees were quite adamant that they would not return to the industry as
practising hairdressers as they were currently in jobs they enjoyed and did not want to
go back to hair cutting and interacting with clients even if the pay was increased.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 22

 Industry Interview

Service Skills Australia

A meeting was held with Service Skills Australia (SSA) to gain an understanding of
their perspective on the ‘skills shortage’ facing the hairdressing industry. SSA
represents a wide range of service occupations including hairdressing. The discussion
covered issues such as employment conditions, supply, demand and training in the
hairdressing industry. The Chief Executive Officer, the General Manager, and a
research leader participated in the meeting.

Is there a skills shortage in the industry?

This is not a clear cut issue as there are many factors contributing to the perception of
a shortage. Several view points were offered (which are supported by our research so
far). For example, while employers may state that there is a skills shortage because
they are unable to quickly recruit new employees, this may not be totally accurate. It
was acknowledged that, while there had been a fall in overall hairdressing
apprenticeships over the past 10 years or so, many hairdressing employers are
notoriously ‘picky’ about who they want to employ. Most are reluctant to employ
someone who does not have precisely the right skills or competencies and train them
further - anyone who is not able to go immediately on to the shop floor and cut
clients’ hair, sell hair products, deal with client comments/complaints and undertake
other tasks would be considered to be unable to contribute sufficiently to salon profit
and therefore unlikely to be hired. This would make it especially difficult for those
who have been out of the industry, for even a relatively short period of 12 months, to
be re-hired as it would be presumed they would at the very least have lost cutting
speed and need some form of retraining which is not available (see below).

Occupational exits are common

It is recognised widely in the hairdressing industry that this occupation (and indeed
many other trades and professions) is not a permanent single track career path. Many
will move in and out of the occupation, perhaps into associated areas such as hair
product sales or training, over their working life. Others will use the many skills they
develop in hairdressing to move into unrelated occupations or further their skills and
study. This is not a bad thing, and should be seen and marketed as an acceptable
pathway. People are expected to have several career paths in today’s working life and
a redefinition of skills is called for in terms of how we think about exits from trades
which is a common occurrence.

Location
As expected, locality plays an important role in determining whether employers find
desired new employees with relevant skills or not – for example, a ‘high-end’
hairdressing salon in the city offering a variety of services to a range of clients in a
busy, glamorous environment, is more likely to attract prospective employees than a
suburban salon just offering basic haircutting services.

Employment conditions
They could be better – the industry does suffer from a poor image in terms of long
hours of work, poor pay, lack of a career path, stress associated with continuous

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 23

contact with the public and so on. Due to the difficulties in getting back into the
workforce, once they have a family many hairdressers opt to obtain a job in another
industry, though they often continue to practise their hairdressing skills at home.

Training
Currently there are two established pathways into this occupation through
apprenticeships or institution based learning. However, there are a number of
tensions relating to training and development of already qualified staff and there does
not seem to be a recognised national pathway back into this occupation once someone
leaves it.

While the apprenticeships system allows for hands-on experience, there are also
negatives attached to it in terms of the award system in different states, exploitation of
apprentices by employers and changing expectations of apprentices.

The institution based pathway is generally taken by international students. Skills are
developed by completing a full-time institution based program (without the regular
salon training/experience of an apprenticeship). The disadvantage relates to the fact
that employers are reluctant to employ these students seeking to enter hairdressing via
this pathway as they are perceived as not having enough practical salon experience
(despite the fact that many institutions operate their own on-campus salons).

Lack of vision
Employers in this industry often do not have a long term vision in terms of staff
training and retaining staff. Typically, salons are small or micro businesses (rarely
employing more than 10 people) and profits are hard to sustain and obviously very
important for a business to keep afloat. It is a very much ‘here and now’ industry -
why spend money training staff when they are likely to leave anyway? Employers
who do train staff often do so in staff time and sometimes at staff cost.

Other points in relation to training that emerged:

o Quality of training needs to improve – there are many private RTOs with non-
accredited hairdressing courses which means they are not nationally recognised.
Students qualifying in these courses find that they are not recognised elsewhere, and
therefore cannot practice hairdressing or need to complete another course which is
nationally recognised.
o Consistent standards of training – how to ensure this amongst RTOs?
o Competent or not competent hairdressers – there are difficulties inherent in
this assessment, and is a long standing issue in the training industry.

Can ex-hairdressers get back into the trade even if they want to?
This is a difficult question. According to SSA currently there is no pathway in the
form of a nationally recognised training for re-skilling those who haven’t practised as
hairdressers for a period of time. If a person wants to get back in to the industry after
a gap of many years, the only recourse available seems to be is to undertake a
Certificate IV in hairdressing. But this isn’t really retraining! Certificate IV builds on
skills you already have (the assumption being that you are a practising hairdresser)
and is not geared towards retraining those who haven’t practiced for years.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 24

According to SSA, what would be ideal is a retraining program where people
interested in re-entering the trade can work for an employer on a subsidised work
placement for at least 6 months on agreed wages, and be assessed against certain units
in the Hairdressing Training Package. At the end of the placement, they need to be
assessed before they can be deemed to have skills which may have lost currency in the
years outside the industry.

Hairdressing and MODL

It seems that the removal of hairdressing from the MODL will not have much of an
impact on the skills shortage issue. International students studying hairdressing in
Australia use the institutional pathway to enter the occupation. However, this
pathway, as mentioned previously, is not seen by employers as one providing students
with necessary skills and competencies and as a result they are reluctant to employ
them (this is also due to other concerns relating to a lack of English language ability).

At present there is no information on the employment destination of these students –

all anecdotal indications are that they do not practise in this occupation (and this is
also true of some domestic students). This being the case, the placement of
Hairdressing on the MODL has not addressed the skills shortage. However, dropping
hairdressing from the MODL will have an impact in a related area, namely the
training industry, especially private training providers who have a big stake in
providing training in hairdressing.

If we need to address skills shortage we need to rethink strategies of encouraging

people back into this trade – indications from SSA are that in the current economic
climate ex-hairdressers are likely to come back into this ‘recession proof’ industry,
especially if there is a trained pathway back.

Lack of a unified voice in Hairdressing – new developments

The hairdressing industry has suffered from the lack of a national body to espouse
their cause. There are 8 state based associations and it is only recently that 2 national
bodies have emerged 1) Hair and Beauty Australia (HBA) and 2) The Australian
Hairdressing Council.

HBA’s primary objective is to promote the interests of the hair and beauty industry
nationally, whether it is by lobbying the Federal Government or otherwise. The
Australian Hairdressing Council is more involved in raising standards of the beauty
industry in terms of award structures. At this stage the distinction between the two
bodies appears to be somewhat unclear.

Summary
The discussion with SSA highlighted some key points:
o Hairdressing has an image problem associated with poor working conditions
and difficulties in re-entering the workforce once individuals have left the occupation.
o It needs to be recognised that hairdressing is not perceived to be a permanent
occupation by many and there is a lot of churn in the system. This situation is not
unique as other trades, too, suffer from movement in and out of the trade.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 25

o Employers are sometimes reluctant to train staff, or to employ someone
without current skills and train them.
o Placing hairdressing on the MODL hasn’t made an impact on skills shortage.
However dropping it off the MODL will affect the training industry.

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 26

 Attachment 2
Pathways to Permanent Residency – options for international students studying MODL listed occupations
Note. Students studying VET courses leading to
International Completes study in MODL related occupations on the MODL receive more points than
student gets VET course which assists in meeting pass those studying courses not listed on MODL, making it
Sector Temporary mark in the PR points test. easier to meet the PR points test. PR applications for
Visa (Subclass 572) MODL related occupations previously received priority
to come to Aust to processing, however recent changes in government
study in a MODL policy now give priority to applications for an
occupation related occupation on the CSL.
course.

If Yes
If No

Can either follow Option 2

option 1 or 2.
Can apply for Skilled
Can apply for a Skilled –
– Independent
Graduate (Temporary)
(Residence) Visa
Visa (Subclass 485) (18
(Subclass 885)
months)
A catch 22 situation
Option 1 – employers may be
reluctant to employ
Can apply for PR - If gained required skills and individuals on
Skilled Sponsored experience, can apply for a 3 temp/provisional
If approved If not (Residence) visa subclass year, Skilled – Regional visas & therefore
approved 886 if sponsored by a Sponsored (Provisional) visa they may be
relative in Australia or subclass 487. ineligible for 887
nominated by State/Terr
government.
Can apply for PR - Skilled –
Can apply for Regional visa subclass 887 if lived
Granted a review of for at least 2 years and worked full-
permanent visa the decision time for 12 months in a Specified
Regional Area before lodging visa
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 application. 27
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Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations 2009 28