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Career Area

Hairdressing and Beauty

Looking good and feeling good are now big business, and not just for women. Nearly a quarter of a million people work in the UK hairdressing and beauty industry, accounting for nearly 1% of the UK economy. Both the hairdressing and beauty sectors have grown considerably in recent years. However, the current downturn in the economy is having some impact on vacancies, particularly in the beauty sector. Longer term, both sectors are likely to continue to grow. Here are some facts about the UK industry:

  • Some 245,795 people are employed across 55,000 businesses.
  • There are 35,704 hair salons, 1,500 nail bars, 13,000 beauty salons, 947 mobile beauty therapists and 2,967 barbers.
  • 90% of all workers are female and 93% of employers have less than 10 employees.
  • In Scotland, almost 16,000 people work in the industry, accounting for 6.4% of the UK total.

To work in this sector you must be interested in learning the practical skills for the job and you must be a ‘people person’. You must enjoy working with all types of people. You must be a good listener, diplomatic and friendly. You also need to be clean, well-groomed and interested in the latest styles and products. Some creative flair is necessary for most of the jobs. Many workers in the beauty industry are also interested in complementary health therapies like aromatherapy (see the ‘Health and Medicine’ career area). Some of the materials you use, such as hot wax, or the chemicals which colour hair, could hurt you and your customers. You must also be careful and aware of health and safety issues. Remember that if you ever want to open up your own salon you will need business skills too. A quarter of new businesses set up by young Scots are in the beauty industry.

Most hair stylists will train to Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) Level 2. However, courses are available up to Higher National Certificate (HNC) level. Beauty care and beauty therapy courses range from one-year National Qualification (NQ) to two-year Higher National Diploma (HND) courses.

Sources

Habia, Sector Skills Council for the Hair and Beauty Business (http://www.habia.org/)

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