Personal Services

Personal Services IRC

• Personal Services IRC's 2018 Skills Forecast (forthcoming)
• IRC membership
• Skills IQ – Skills Service Organisation

Industry insights on skills needs

Job vacancy data suggests the top generic skills in demand for this industry are:

• communication skills
• creativity
• energetic
• detail-oriented
• organisational skills.

The same data shows the occupations most in demand are:

• Hairdressers
• Florists
• Performing Arts Technicians
• Funeral Workers
• Models and Sales Demonstrators.

The Personal Services IRC Skills Forecast 2018 (forthcoming) reports that there are difficulties across the Personal Services industry with attracting and retaining skills staff. Jobs in this industry are often not seen as viable long-term and may even be actively discouraged by careers advisors or parents. Additionally, a decrease in apprenticeships and traineeships is affecting sectors within this industry, with reduced entry of young people into employment in the industry.

The Skill Forecasts also highlights the issue of existing talent development. Many businesses have limited budgets for training or upskilling employees, perhaps failing to understand the returns on training investment that may be available.

Information from the Wholesale, Retail and Personal Services IRC's 2017 Industry Skills Forecast states the broad trends that the Personal Services sector is currently impacted by. This includes an increasing need for workers to have digital literacy and social media skills. Nearly all businesses in this area are required to maintain a social media presence and use digital technology to streamline their business. Training for workers entering this industry should include the appropriate digital skills.

For detailed analysis of skills needs, see the respective sector pages.

Below is a list of industry-relevant organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.

Industry associations and advisory bodies

Aesthetics Practitioners Advisory Network

Australian Association of Floral Designers

Australian Flower Council

Australian Funeral Directors Association

Australian Hairdressing Council

Australian Institute of Embalming

Flower Association of Queensland

Flowers Victoria

Hair and Beauty Australia

Hair and Beauty Industry Association

Independent Funeral Directors Association of Australia

National Funeral Directors Association of Australia

Retail and Personal Services Skills Advisory Council

WildFlowers Australia

Employee associations

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association

Relevant research

Wholesale, Retail and Personal Services IRC's 2017 Industry Skills Forecast – Skills IQ

Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Student and Courses from the following training packages or qualifications:

• SFL Floristry Training Package, SHB Hairdressing and Beauty Services Training Package, SIB10 Beauty Training Package and SIF Funeral Services Training Package and all superseded Training Packages.

Priority skills data has been extracted from the Personal Services IRC's 2018 Skills Forecast (forthcoming). Each IRC has prioritised and ranked the generic skills.

Job vacancy data have been extracted from Burning Glass Technologies 2018, Labor Insight Real-time Labor Market Information Tool, Burning Glass Technologies, Boston, viewed July 2018, <https://www.burning-glass.com>.

Data shown represent most requested occupations and employers according to internet job postings in Australia between July 2015 and June 2018 filtered by ANZSIC and ANZSCO classification levels listed below.

• Occupations
• 4274 Flower Retaining
• 9511 Hairdressing and Beauty Services
• 9520 Funeral, Crematorium and Cemetery Services.