SHB30121 is the nationally recognised Certificate III in Beauty Services. It prepares you for work as a hair or beauty salon assistant. It has been the current version on the national register since 2021, when it replaced SHB30115. 7,640 people enrolled in 2025, up 0.3% on the year before.
The signals behind the Certificate III in Beauty Services are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Employment is projected to grow through 2035. The official shortage list does not rate its occupations in shortage. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Australia's official shortage list rates civil celebrants, body artists, first aid trainers, religious assistants and personal service workers necs as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Civil Celebrant, Body Artist, First Aid Trainer, Religious Assistant and Personal Service Workers nec as not in shortage.
Hair or beauty salon assistant jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 21,044 workers in May 2025, 22,071 by May 2030 (up 4.9%) and 23,456 by May 2035 (up 11.5%).
Certificate III in Beauty Services graduates do worse than is typical at Certificate III level. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 79% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Certificate III result is 88%, across 105 qualifications. Median income after training was $32,800, against $54,000 typical. 87% were satisfied with the training, against 90.6% typical. Income here is the survey median about six months after training. It includes part-time work, so it is not the full-time award rate.
Enrolments in the Certificate III in Beauty Services are steady. Across Australia, 7,615 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 7,640, up 0.3% in a year. National data for SHB30121 starts in 2022.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for SHB30121 is being verified against official program lists.
Eligibility and student contributions vary by program and provider. The official state listing is the source of truth. In a subsidised place the government pays most of the tuition and you pay a co-contribution set by the program and provider.
The Certificate III in Beauty Services is 18 units: 14 core, plus 4 electives chosen from 11 options on the register. Prerequisites apply to Four of them, marked below.
No Get Course partner currently lists this qualification. Check the national register for organisations approved to deliver it, and remember that approval to deliver is a regulatory fact, not a recommendation. You can browse live courses from our partners and enquire today.
Browse coursesGet Course maps SHB30121 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 4518) so the mapping can be checked. Job advertisement counts come from the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index and count online ads, not vacancies filled. Enrolment counts come from NCVER Total VET Activity and count people in training, not completions. Outcome benchmarks marked “typical” are medians computed by Get Course across all Certificate IIIs in the same NCVER collection; they are derived figures, not official NCVER benchmarks. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; register training.gov.au, synced 6 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.