EurOccupations Expert ConferenceMarseille, 21-23 May 2008

Expert workshop : Trade & Agriculture

The Occupation of Hairdresser

Margaret Birch

The Occupation of Hairdresser

• UK (with information on Greece and Portugal)

• Entry qualifications

• Training, certification and licensing

• Developments within the European context

The Occupation of Hairdresser

Minimum entry qualifications:

• Completion of compulsory secondary education

• Some training institutions in UK require GCSE passes

The Occupation of Hairdresser

Training in the UK:• on- and off-the-job training (including the Modern

Apprenticeship)• lasts up to three years• leads to NVQ Levels 1, 2 or 3• Diploma in Hair and Beauty Studies to be

implemented in 2009 by HABIA

The Occupation of Hairdresser

Licensing, Standardisation and Professionalisation• Nearly 25% of hairdressing businesses in the UK are

part of a franchise or chain• Employer’s legal obligations in area of health and safety,

environmental health etc.• Self-employed hairdressers or proprietors in Greece

must have worked in the occupation for at least two years

• Mobility of labour in the EU

The Occupation of Hairdresser

Integration of standards• Carta di Bari – European Symposium on the

evolution of professional hairdresser training, Bari, Oct 2007

• Key objective to promote integration of training systems in Europe

• Development of European Hairdressing Certificate

Hairdressers as Health Educators in India ''Hairdressers are being employed at thousands of schools to stop children from 'looking funny'. The 4.000 stylists will act as ' health educators' to make pupils' hair neater. They will also handout hygiene tips at the 45.000 schools in Jharkhand as part of the state government' s plan''

 (Extract from a recent local Warwick newspaper)