Lifestyle

The Government Says Hairdressers Are Becoming More Huat Liao

2018-02-19 , 5:57 pm

Last Updated on 2018-02-20 , 6:15 pm

Nowadays it’s pretty common to hear of people considering career-switching.

Especially with a scheme like SkillsFuture, it’s even easier to learn a new skill and build on it.

If you’re sick and tired of your job, why not try becoming a hairdresser?

Doing “amazingly well”

At the Singapore Perspectives 2018 conference last month, Mr Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said local hairdressers are doing “amazingly well”.

“They earn much closer to the median wage (82%) compared with their counterparts in Australia, the US and the UK (32, 68 and 44%)”, the Straits Times reported.

Statistics from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) show that the median gross monthly income from the work of Singapore residents in full-time employment was $3,749 as of June 2017.

The median gross wage of a hairdresser was $3,099 as of June 2016, according to newest figures.

“People are more willing to pay to look good”

Well, makes sense.

Hair-salon owner Jeanie McLean, says: “People are more willing to pay to look good. Even men are spending more money on grooming.”

Income earned by the hairdressing industry rose from $338.4 million in 2014 to $401.1 million in 2016, an increase of 18.5% in two years, according to figures from the Singapore Department of Statistics.

Earnings can range widely

Mr Simon Lee, the founder of the Hair & Cosmetology Association (Singapore) (Hacos), notes that “earnings can range widely”.

He estimates that a seasoned hairstylist can earn about $10,000 a month.

Big-name veterans or salon owners can also charge up to a few thousand dollars for their hair services, hence earning an even bigger income.

On the other hand, an apprentice earns merely an average of $1,200 a month.

Earnings can fluctuate widely because of a common industry practice:

Most workers receive a basic pay and the rest is determined by their commission. The commission is earned through their hairdressing services as well as the products they sell to their customers.

Some try to earn more commission by hard-selling their clients packages that offer a set of pre-paid hair services, which can cost up to thousands of dollars.

So next time you think your hairdresser is annoying, just think that they’re also trying to earn a living lah.

“It’s quite messy”

Mr Lawrence Koh, founder of Le Salon Prive says: “It’s quite messy. Customers may be asked to take up unnecessary hair treatments.”

In 2015, The Scissorhands and its affiliate Shizahanzu closed down suddenly, leaving hundreds of consumers with unused packages that they had paid for.

The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) received close to 200 complaints from their customers.

An accreditation scheme

In 2016, salons signed up voluntarily for an accreditation scheme for the industry to prevent such an incident from happening again.

Those who signed up have to meet strict criteria, such as training staff not to hard sell (read: force) and having standardised hygiene guidelines.

Being optimistic

Young people are driving the demand for “experimental looks”, but older professionals are a more significant factor in the industry’s boom, says Mr Gary Chew, founder and director of Mi the Salon and the Salon Vim outlets.

“This demographic are those already on a career path, who are aged from their 20s to 40s. They want to look fresh at work,” says Mr Chew.

So…any plans on changing your career path?

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com