An open letter to Australian Salon Owners
Just imagine being asked for fashion advice, women hanging off your every word. Newspapers featuring you on the front page and attending fashion shows as a guest. The public see you as an expert in your field and wouldn’t trust anyone else, let alone themselves with their hair. You are treated like a Rockstar. This was Hairdressing in the 60s. Fast forward 60 years and the public view of Hairdressers is on the decline. We are judged as High School dropouts who just mix colour and put it on hair, and not very intelligent. Where did our art go and why do we train hard and work hard for such little reward?
I am ready to take the criticism so I’m just going to say it. WE DID IT TO OURSELVES! As an industry, we are to blame. No one is coming to save us. It’s up to us to save ourselves and that requires a massive change in not only our training and structure but also our attitudes. Through pain, comes change and you will all agree our industry is feeling the pain of lack of respect form those in power.
According to the The Australian Government Department of Jobs and Small Business, there has been a shortage of hairdressers for over 20 years. We have an oversupply of certificates but not enough skilled Hairdressers.
A quick read of the article dated December 2109, 2 out of 3 hairdressing jobs are unfilled. https:// www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-17/hairdresser-shortage-and-what-should-be-done-about-it/ 11796838
So where are all the Hairdressers? Are we becoming the new Blacksmiths?
In 2019, Hair Services was the most common paid service for women out of all personal care services. So our clients want us, yet no one is listening. We are a future proof industry. We cannot be replaced by a machine. We touch people, we council, we beautify, we save people precious time. So why are we given so little respect and understanding of how important our industry is.
First, some interesting stats The Australian Bureau of Statistics found in research conducted in 1993 that - Only 36% of Qualified Hairdressers worked in the Hairdressing Trade - 27% of hairdressers were not in the workforce (they are guessing this is due to a high percentage of women staying home)
The Australian Industry Skills Committee found that in - 2011, 46,400 people were employed in hairdressing - 2019, 77,800 people were employed in hairdressing We have trained people, but why are they so hard to employ. Where did they go?
The AISC has found there was a decline in enrolments for Hairdressing related training over the last 4 years, a more than 50% decline in apprentice and trainee sign ups since 2010. What used to be a revered industry is now struggling to get young people to even enrol.
- In 2018, 19,500 people enrolled in a Hairdressing Related Qualification only 5,200 completed this qualification
- In 2018, 3,730 commenced an Apprentice and Training Qualification and only 1,852 completed it.
And out of those that do enrol, about half complete. Is our training that boring? Why aren’t people excited by our fun industry? Is money the deciding factor?
When it comes to the Certificate II and III in Hairdressing - 43% of enrolments in the training was from a Private Training Provider, and only 52% from a Tafe.
Add to that, the Vocational Education and Training system is not meeting employer expectations due to inadequate training and the shortening and condensing of the course.
According to The National College of Vocational Education, in 2018 most students undertaking VET condensed training in hairdressing were under 20 years of age and of a non english speaking background. Has our course become just something to do when you can’t decide or for those wanting to get residency. Things went downhill when we were put on the Skills Shortage List as a profession to undertake if you want a residency in Australia. That coupled with the condensing of our course to ‘fast track’ for those that could afford it, making Apprenticeships seem slow and long. Just another example of the Government not understanding our industry. Yet we stood back and let this happen.
Our top industry employers are lower priced chain stores making that an easy option for the under qualified to find work. Leaving the higher priced salons with minimal job applicants.
A haircut is a haircut right???
Even barbering industry has reported a shortage of qualified barbers and cutting skills are reported to be at a low level across the industry. Without the proper training, staff won’t build a client base and won’t stay in the industry very long. We then lose them to a Call Centre for more money and less pressure.
In our industry, we do not sell a product, the Hairdresser is the product, and if that Hairdresser does not receive the proper training, then the responsibility lies with the Salon Owners to train the Hairdressers to the standard clients expect, whilst paying them a fully qualified wage. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for training new staff but when the basic skills are not present and you have to pay full wage and fully train a staff member, this does not become a viable financial option.
Those who want to learn, will learn. Those who don’t, you need to weed out quick but that takes time, effort and feels like the beginning again with each new staff member. If you don’t love this job in the first month, then I’m saying you never will. We don’t need more Hairdressers, we need more skilled and passionate Hairdressers with proper training and real skills.
The ‘hangers on’ have become more prevalent since the Government mandated that Employers have to pay for their Apprentice Tafe training. They decide to ‘give it a go’ with no real loss on the Apprentice’s behalf and can leave when it all goes too boring and hard, with the Salon Owner left with the burden of training fees for someone who doesn’t end up finishing their Apprenticeship. All win and no loss for those just dipping their toes. I disagree that we need to pay Apprentice Training fees. Training a staff member and sharing the skills and tips we have built up over our career is not a privilege on us, it’s a privilege for those training under us. I believe, if a student really wants to learn the trade of Hairdressing, they will be willing to pay for their own education and fell blessed to be working under a mentor. The Government can bring in a HECS style debt for those who need help financially. With the Government rebates and help, the course is still on the lower end when it comes to High Education fees.
So what else?
We have parents discouraging their children not to pursue a career in Hairdressing due to low wages and High Schools not encouraging students to enrol in Hairdressing due to the need to publish higher University enrolments. With such negative energy towards Hairdressing is no wonder the young feel like it’s not a worthy career to pursue.
The industry has lack of appropriate regulation and inconsistent standards and training across the states. In New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania only, salons need to be operated by a registered hairdresser. In Victoria, anyone can operate a salon unless they want to hire an apprentice, then they need to be qualified, and in Northern Territory, Queensland and ACT there are no operating qualifications apart from the fact that all apprentices must be supervised. What do these regulations say about our industry? With little regulation, our Industry has been under valued by Government and our voice is not being heard. When the rules change, why don’t we take a stand?
A Registered Plumber and Electrician are the only ones allowed to do plumbing and electrical work and need to sign and submit paperwork. How? their Unions and Industry bodies have fought for this. Yet we have just allowed our profession to fall by the wayside and watched other industries surpass us in wages.
This starts with small steps and many voices.
The first step is to band together as an industry rather than tear each other down. The trend in our industry is to compete by undercutting other salons and clients feel they can ‘wheel and deal’ prices due to confusion. This reduces our value to the outside world and in turn reduces our self worth as an industry. It’s time to get out of the cheap heap and charge what we deserve. But we all need to be in this together, unified as an industry.
So what’s the solution?
1. Weed out the hangers on. In Australia, we need Licensing to be reintroduced as they have in the US. Currently, you do not need to prove a qualification to get a job in a salon or open up at home. A licence, for a small fee to be renewed every year would enable us to practice Hairdressing anywhere within Australia, whether that be salon, home or freelance.
2. We need to reduce the growth of unregulated home salons. Most do not even register with council and advertise on sites such as Gumtree to get cheap clients. We need to shut down these ‘chop shops’ and keep the legitimate home salons going and registered as you would any business. This includes regular Local Council Health Checks and Licensing checks.
3. Consistent training across the states with a focus on salon based training working alongside the RTO. Business owners need to be accountable for the training they supply their Apprentices and they need to be a registered Training Salon to be able to take on Apprentices. This will reduce the likelihood of Apprentices being treated as ‘slave labour’ and ‘glorified cleaners’ with little or no movement forward in their career. The Apprentice will have to pass a final exam within the RTO and on site in the salon to be able to complete their qualification, rather than the ‘discussion’ approach with no real time frame that is currently in place. The future of our industry relies on proper training, up skilling and passionate people. This starts with us as Salon Owners being accountable for what we produce.
4. A move away from the wage based pay system and into a Commission based system or Booth Rental system to encourage Hairdressers back into salons. Hairdressers need to be rewarded and paid well for for the work they do. As the ‘product’ this system encourages Hairdressers to sell themselves, which means keeping up with training and the latest techniques. This is not an ‘unfair’ system, but rather one that rewards the passionate ones and weeds out those who don’t really want to work in our Industry.
5. Keeping our prices fair and also profitable. In every other Industry, professionals price according to overheads, product, skill level and demand, yet in Hairdressing we are told to ‘call all the salons in your area and see what they are charging’. How can we compare apples with oranges when we all have different levels of experience, overheads and product choice. Coming into the salon is an experience and different price levels should be acceptable according to that salon’s expenses. We can have the cheaper salons with cheaper products and quicker service (ie McDonald’s) or the more elite experience with higher quality products and more attention to the clients (ie Nobu) but either way, the price should reflect what the client gets and it is the clients choice to decide. As salon Owners we need to have a proper business plan, taking into account our time, the salon ‘real estate’ the clients sits in, staff wages, utilities and product costs. Until we work those sums out, we cannot produce a proper price list.
In my salon we charge clients per grams of colour and time taken by their Stylist of choice. Clients find this a fair system and the person with long, fine hair pays less than the client with the long, thick hair. Staff feel as if they are earning according to their time and experience and that their time is seen as valuable to the Salon Owners. No time pressure and no loss of profits if the Stylist takes longer with a client. How long it takes, is how long it takes and the client gets charged accordingly. Obviously the longer the Stylist has been doing hair, the higher they charge but also the faster they work, so the price reflects this. Clients understand this and pricing is transparent.
The more colour used, the higher the price. This reduces wastage as what the staff member mixes is part of what they charge the client . No two colour services are the same and this helps stop a blanket pricing system where the colour takes longer or uses more product than the initial quote, reducing salon profits and frustrating Stylists who spend a long time on a client with little reward.
So why are we afraid to charge our worth? Is it because we believe we will lose clients? Or we don’t feel confident in what we do? Or do we feel what we do doesn’t matter?
We won’t lose clients. Everybody needs their hair done, well those of us with hair anyway. If Hairdressing is the most common paid service for women out of all the Personal Services, then where do you think they will go. Most people box dye once, ok maybe twice, before they realise that Hairdressers do it so much better. Most people cannot cut their own hair better than we do, no matter how many You Tube videos they watch, so where are they going to go? We cannot be replaced with robots, so where are they going to go?
So you don’t feel confident enough to charge your worth? To that I say TRAINING, TRAINING and more TRAINING. We live in a digital world. If you can watch You Tube, you can upskill. The internet is flooded with Hairdressers worldwide showing off their skills. If they have taken the time to record that video, we should give them the time to watch it. Look, follow, get inspired. Then try it yourself on a friend, staff member or even a mannequin head. You are the artist. Create your own masterpiece. There is no right or wrong, only client satisfaction.
Learn your colour wheel and treat each colour as having its own solution. What worked on Client X will not necessarily work on Client Y. Our craft is not cookie cutting. Nothing frustrates me more when people ask online what toner to use for their client. If you cannot work this out yourself from your consultation and the Colour Wheel then it’s time for you to go back to basics. And no, this one toner does not look good on everyone so don’t use it on all your clients. This miracle unicorn toner is about as useful as the foundation that works out your skin colour after you apply it and matches perfectly to it. Ahhh! Advertising lies.
We are lucky to be in an industry that is future sustainable for a very long time. So we only have ourselves to blame if we are going the way of the Blacksmiths. We need sudden and drastic change now and we all need to be onboard. Together, we need to bring back the glamour and buzz of the salon. Make Hairdressers want to work in a team and be paid well for their hard work. As Salon Owners we need to follow all Federal regulations in regard to Super and Tax and the correct pay rates. We need to step up as Trainers and share our knowledge, rather than hiding it for fear that staff will leave. We need to encourage staff not to leave, by making it more profitable and enticing to stay within a salon rather than working from home.
The change starts with us. We need to be the change. Only then can we rebuild our industry and get the recognition we deserve. This will attract new candidates and stop the talented ones from leaving for a better life in a Call Centre (as if that’s a better life). We need to give ourselves the respect we deserve and stand up for our pricing and our staff. Only then does our journey begin. Then we campaign to Government for change.
Leasa
I would love to hear your thoughts on what other viable changes you feel the Hairdressing Industry needs.
