Dresser to performance hairdresser
A dresser already meets 62% of what the performance hairdresser role asks for. The move turns on 5 required skills not yet in the profile.
39.7/ 100
1 How much of what a performance hairdresser is expected to do is already part of a dresser’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the performance hairdresser role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A performance hairdresser role treats 8 of its required skills as things a dresser already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt to artists' creative demands
- prepare personal work environment
- safeguard artistic quality of performance
- translate artistic concepts to technical designs
- understand artistic concepts
- work ergonomically
What stands in the way is 5 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A performance hairdresser role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a dresser background worth leading with.
- already held advise client on technical possibilities communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held document your own practice information skills
- already held manage consumables stock management skills
- already held prepare personal work environment management skills
- already held safeguard artistic quality of performance communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held understand artistic concepts communication, collaboration and creativity
All 16 carried skills, including the 8 the performance hairdresser role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 10 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply hair cutting techniques required
- still to learn perform quick hair changeovers required
- optional, not held dye wigs optional
- still to learn meet deadlines required
- optional, not held decide on wig making process optional
- still to learn maintain wigs required
- still to learn hair required
- optional, not held create wigs optional
- optional, not held design make-up effects optional
- optional, not held draw make-up sketches optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a performance hairdresser role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held adapt to artists' creative demands skill
- already held prepare personal work environment skill
- already held safeguard artistic quality of performance skill
- already held translate artistic concepts to technical designs skill
- already held understand artistic concepts skill
- already held work ergonomically skill
- already held work safely with chemicals skill
- already held work with respect for own safety skill
- already held advise client on technical possibilities skill
- already held develop professional network skill
- already held document your own practice skill
- already held keep personal administration skill
- already held manage consumables stock skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held prevent fire in a performance environment skill
- already held work safely with mobile electrical systems under supervision skill
5 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held create wigs optional
- optional, not held decide on wig making process optional
- optional, not held design make-up effects optional
- optional, not held draw make-up sketches optional
- optional, not held dye wigs optional
10 held skills the performance hairdresser role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role assist with dressing skill
- not needed by the target role dress actors skill
- not needed by the target role history of fashion knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain costumes skill
- not needed by the target role perform costume changeovers skill
- not needed by the target role preset costumes skill
- not needed by the target role standard sizing systems for clothing knowledge
- not needed by the target role use personal protection equipment skill
- not needed by the target role wash costumes skill
- not needed by the target role work safely with machines skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn hair required
Common questions about this move
Can a dresser become a performance hairdresser?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A dresser already covers 62% of what a performance hairdresser is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 8 of which the performance hairdresser role treats as required.
What skills does a dresser need to become a performance hairdresser?
5 required skills are missing, plus 5 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is apply hair cutting techniques.
How hard is the move from dresser to performance hairdresser?
Its learning distance is 39.7 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.