Hairdressing Apprentice Hub
Hairdressing is one of the biggest apprenticeship trades in Australia, and one of the few where most of your day is spent talking to the person you are working on. You will learn to cut, colour, style and treat hair through the Certificate III in Hairdressing (SHB30416), usually over three to four years, combining paid salon work with formal training at TAFE or a private college. It is also one of the most common school-based apprenticeships in the country, so plenty of people start while still in Year 10 or 11.
Be clear-eyed going in: apprentice wages in this industry are low, especially for juniors, and your first year is mostly washing hair, sweeping floors and looking after clients rather than cutting. But qualified hairdressers are on the national shortage list, good ones are always in demand, and the trade offers real paths to more money: commission, a loyal client book, renting a chair, or owning your own salon.
Thinking about it?
Thinking about getting into Hairdressing?
How to get in with no experience
The standard route is a hairdressing apprenticeship: you sign a training contract with a salon (or with a group training organisation that places you in host salons), work and get paid while you complete the Certificate III in Hairdressing (SHB30416) through TAFE or a private college, usually over three to four years. You can start as a school-based apprentice in Years 10 to 12, as a school leaver, or as an adult apprentice at any age, and adults start on higher award rates. The alternative is doing the Certificate III full time at a TAFE or academy first and then finding salon work, which gets you the paper faster but without the years of paid floor experience salons value. Either way, start by walking into salons with a short resume and asking, because plenty of apprenticeships are never advertised.
Who it suits
Hairdressing suits people who genuinely like people, because the talking is not a side effect of the job, it is half the job. You stand close to strangers all day, listen to them, and translate a vague photo on a phone into something that works on their actual hair, so communication and reading people matter as much as scissor skills. You also need steady hands, decent close-up vision, an eye for shape and colour, and the stamina to stand for eight hours with a smile on a busy Saturday. It does not suit people who want to clock off mentally while they work, who cannot handle repetitive early tasks, or who bruise easily under criticism, because feedback in a salon is constant and direct.
What you can earn
The Australian Government's Your Career profile lists average earnings for hairdressers at around $1,121 per week, which is below the all-jobs average, so check the live figure on the profile because it updates. That number hides a wide spread: salon employees on award wages sit at the bottom, while stylists with a strong client book earn commission on top of their base, and senior stylists, chair renters and salon owners can do considerably better because their income scales with their clientele rather than an hourly rate. Apprentice pay is a separate question set by the Hair and Beauty Industry Award based on your year, age and school-based status: never rely on quoted figures, use the Fair Work Pay Calculator.
Job outlook
Hairdressers are in national shortage: the occupation has sat on Jobs and Skills Australia's Occupation Shortage List, and both hairdresser and barber were assessed as being in national shortage again on the 2025 list. Around 65,000 to 67,000 people work in the occupation across Australia, demand is stable, and the work is spread across every suburb and town rather than concentrated in capital cities, because hair grows everywhere. The industry loses a lot of qualified people to burnout and low early wages, which is exactly why salons compete hard for good stylists, and why finishing the apprenticeship puts you in a strong position.
Earnings and outlook are a guide only and change over time. Sources: Your Career: Hairdresser occupation profile (opens in a new tab), Jobs and Skills Australia: Hairdressers (ANZSCO 3911) (opens in a new tab), SaCSA on the 2025 Occupation Shortage List (opens in a new tab), training.gov.au: SHB30416 Certificate III in Hairdressing (opens in a new tab), Fair Work Pay Calculator (opens in a new tab)
Start with these
What apprentices actually do
- •Cut hair with scissors, clippers and razors, from trims to complete restyles
- •Colour hair: permanent and semi-permanent tints, foils, balayage, bleaching and colour correction
- •Chemically reform hair: perms, straightening and smoothing treatments
- •Style hair for everyday wear and for events: blow dries, curls, braids and upstyles
- •Treat hair and scalp conditions and advise clients on home hair care
- •Consult with clients about what will actually suit their hair type, face shape and budget
- •Keep the salon hygienic: sanitising tools, laundering towels and managing chemical storage
Same trade, different worlds
Same trade, very different day depending on the kind of work your employer does.
Salons
Most apprentices train in a salon, from suburban strip shops to large franchise groups and high-end city salons. This is where you learn the full range: cutting, colour, foils, styling and client service.
- •Colour work is a huge part of modern salon income, so you learn chemical services properly here
- •Franchise groups often have structured training programs and multiple apprentices at once
- •Small independent salons can mean closer mentoring but everything depends on the owner
- •Saturdays are the busiest day of the week almost everywhere, expect to work them
- •Client rebooking and retail sales are part of the job, not an optional extra
Barbershops
Barbering has boomed in Australia and has its own qualification, the Certificate III in Barbering (SHB30516). The work is faster paced: clipper work, fades, beard trims and shaves, with far less chemical work than a salon.
- •Shorter appointment times mean more clients per day and a different rhythm to salon work
- •Walk-ins are common, so the pace can swing from dead quiet to a two-hour wait
- •Some hairdressers cross over into barbering later, and some units overlap between the two certificates
- •Less colour and chemical work, more precision clipper and scissor-over-comb skills
- •Barber culture tends to be casual, but the standards on fades and blends are brutal
Freelance and session styling
Once qualified and experienced, some hairdressers go mobile or freelance: weddings, formals, editorial shoots, fashion shows, film and television. It is rarely where you start, but it is a real path later.
- •Wedding and event work is concentrated on weekends and spring and summer, so income is seasonal
- •Session styling for editorial and film is competitive and usually built on years of assisting
- •Mobile hairdressing means you carry everything and manage your own bookings, insurance and tax
- •Renting a chair in someone else's salon is a halfway step: you run your own book without owning the shop
- •You need a solid client base or a strong network before freelancing pays the bills
A day in the life (first year)
- ▹Open the salon: sweep, restock towels and colour trolleys, check the appointment book before the first client walks in
- ▹Greet clients, offer drinks, gown them up and do consultations alongside your senior stylist
- ▹Shampoo and condition client after client, including massaging conditioner through a colour client's hair at the basin
- ▹Mix colour to the stylist's formula, pass foils, watch processing times and rinse when the toner is done
- ▹Blow dry, practise braids or curls on quiet afternoons, and fit in TAFE coursework or a model night after close
- ▹Close down: sweep again, wash colour bowls and brushes, sterilise tools, fold towels and set up for tomorrow
First-year expectations
- →You will wash a lot of hair. Basin work, head massages and rinsing colour are your bread and butter for months before you touch scissors on a paying client
- →Sweeping the floor between every cut, folding towels, emptying bins and keeping the salon spotless is genuinely part of the job, not hazing
- →Client service comes before cutting: greeting people, making coffee, holding conversations with strangers all day. If you cannot do this part, the technical skills will not save you
- →Your hands will suffer early: wet work and chemicals cause dermatitis in a lot of first years, so gloves and barrier cream matter from day one
- →You practise on mannequin heads and models at TAFE and after hours. Model nights after close are normal, and the apprentices who volunteer for them progress fastest
- →The pay is low, lower than most construction trades, and there is no point pretending otherwise. The apprentices who last are the ones who budgeted for that and kept their eyes on the qualified years
Tools you'll need
Common terms
- Balayage
- A freehand colour technique where lightener is painted onto the hair for a soft, natural, sun-kissed result rather than a hard line
- Foils
- Sections of hair wrapped in aluminium foil with colour or lightener inside, used for highlights and precise colour placement
- Graduation
- A cutting technique that builds weight in layers at an angle, creating shape and volume, classic in bobs and stacked cuts
- Sectioning
- Dividing the hair into clean, controlled sections with clips before cutting or colouring. Sloppy sectioning ruins good work
- Regrowth
- The band of natural colour that grows out from the roots between colour appointments, often called roots by clients
- Toner
- A colour product applied after lightening to neutralise unwanted warmth, for example knocking yellow out of blonde
- Scissor-over-comb
- Cutting hair held against a moving comb rather than in the fingers, essential for short cuts and barbering
- Elevation
- The angle you lift the hair away from the head while cutting, which controls how layered or blunt the result is
- Porosity
- How readily hair absorbs moisture and colour. Damaged, porous hair grabs colour fast and unevenly
- Client book
- The list of regular clients who ask for you personally. Building one is how hairdressers become valuable and better paid
TAFE & study support
Formal training for the Certificate III in Hairdressing runs through TAFE or a private registered training organisation, usually one day a week or in blocks, alongside your paid salon work. You practise on mannequins and volunteer models in a training salon before the skills are signed off in the real one. Progress is competency based, so how fast you move depends on what you can actually demonstrate, not just time served. Some people instead do the certificate full time at TAFE first, then look for salon work, but the apprenticeship route means you earn while you learn and graduate with years of real client experience.
Licensing & qualifications
The qualification to verify is the Certificate III in Hairdressing (SHB30416), current on training.gov.au, with the Certificate III in Barbering (SHB30516) as the related barbershop qualification. Hairdressing is not licensed nationally: there is no equivalent of an electrical licence. NSW is the notable exception, where the Hairdressers Act 2003 makes it an offence to work as a hairdresser for payment without the Certificate III or recognised equivalent, with apprentices exempt while supervised by a qualified hairdresser. Other states have no registration scheme for hairdressing itself, though general health and hygiene rules still apply to salons.
What you'll get paid
Apprentice pay in hairdressing is set by the Hair and Beauty Industry Award (MA000005), and what you actually get depends on your year of apprenticeship, your age (junior, or adult if you start at 21 or older), and whether you are school-based. Rates change every year, so do not trust figures from old blog posts: put your own details into the Fair Work Pay Calculator at calculate.fairwork.gov.au. Be aware that hairdressing apprentice rates are among the lowest of any trade, which is exactly why checking your payslip against the calculator matters.
Common questions
How long does a hairdressing apprenticeship take?
Usually three to four years depending on your state, your employer and how quickly you demonstrate competency. Progression is competency based under the training package, so strong apprentices who get lots of practice can be signed off faster. School-based apprentices typically do around two years part time during school, then finish full time afterwards.
Do I get paid to go to TAFE?
Full time and most part time apprentices are paid for time spent at formal training, because it is part of the apprenticeship. School-based apprentices are generally not paid for off-the-job training time. Check your own situation with the Fair Work Pay Calculator and your training contract.
Can I start while I am still at school?
Yes, and hairdressing is one of the most common school-based apprenticeships in Australia. In NSW, for example, you work a minimum number of paid days in a salon during Years 10 to 12, earn credit towards the HSC, then convert to a full-time apprenticeship after school. Every state runs a version of this, ask your school's careers adviser or an Apprenticeship Connect provider.
What is the difference between hairdressing and barbering?
They are separate Certificate III qualifications: SHB30416 for hairdressing, SHB30516 for barbering. Hairdressing covers the full range including colour and chemical services. Barbering focuses on men's cutting, clipper work, fades, beards and shaves. Some units overlap, and plenty of hairdressers pick up barbering skills later, but pick the one that matches where you actually want to work.
Is it true the pay is really bad?
Apprentice pay in hairdressing is low, among the lowest of the trades, and junior rates make it lower again if you start young. That is the honest picture. It improves each year of the apprenticeship, adult apprentices start on higher rates, and qualified wages plus commission are a different story. Go in with a budget and a plan, not on vibes.
Should I go through a group training organisation or straight to a salon?
A GTO employs you and places you with host salons, handles your wages and training paperwork, and can move you to a new host if a placement goes bad, which is real protection in an industry with some rough employers. Direct employment with a good salon can mean deeper mentoring and a permanent home. The salon and the people matter more than the model: visit, ask who trains the apprentices, and talk to the current ones.
Will my hands get wrecked?
Contact dermatitis is genuinely common in hairdressing, especially in the first years when you do the most basin work. Constant wet hands plus colour chemicals is the cause. Gloves for every chemical service and most wet work, barrier cream, and moisturising religiously will save your skin. If a rash starts, deal with it early, do not tough it out.
Safety reminders
- ⚠Chemical handling is daily work: bleach, peroxide, colour and perm solutions all need gloves, correct mixing ratios and proper storage. Read the safety data sheets, they exist for a reason
- ⚠Contact dermatitis is one of the biggest occupational health problems in hairdressing. Wet work plus chemicals breaks down your skin, so gloves and barrier cream are not optional
- ⚠You are on your feet all day on hard floors. Good shoes, anti-fatigue mats and stretching protect your feet, knees and lower back over a forty-year career
- ⚠Sharps and heat: scissors, razors and clippers cause cuts, and straighteners running near 200 degrees cause burns. Slow down when you are tired
- ⚠Ventilation matters. Lightener powder, chemical fumes and aerosol sprays irritate lungs, so mix colour in ventilated areas and use dust-free lightener where possible
- ⚠Repetitive strain builds up in wrists, elbows and shoulders from cutting and blow drying. Sharp scissors, good technique and ergonomic tools reduce the load
Sources and official links
Straight from the source. These open in a new tab.
- training.gov.au: SHB30416 Certificate III in Hairdressing (opens in a new tab)
- training.gov.au: SHB30516 Certificate III in Barbering (opens in a new tab)
- Your Career: Hairdresser occupation profile (opens in a new tab)
- Fair Work Ombudsman: Apprentice and trainee pay rates (opens in a new tab)
- Fair Work Pay Calculator (opens in a new tab)
- Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2020 (MA000005) (opens in a new tab)
- Hairdressers Act 2003 (NSW) (opens in a new tab)
- NSW Department of Education: School-based hairdressing apprenticeship (opens in a new tab)
Explore the rest of The Apprentice Hub
Ask a tradie: Hairdressing
Got a question? Ask it anonymously. We publish the best ones with answers from qualified tradies.