At The Good Barbers, we spend our days cutting hair, not working through federal spreadsheets. But these figures are about the future of the job we do, so we wanted to understand them properly.
The latest tables from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) show 888 entries into dual training as a Hairdresser EFZ or EBA in 2025. There were 814 in 2024. That is an increase of 74, or 9.1%.
The number that caught our attention even more was the total number of people in training. It rose from 2,010 to 2,075. In the available series, that figure had fallen every year from 2012 to 2024. The 2025 result is the first move upwards after twelve consecutive annual declines.
| Hairdresser EFZ + EBA | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|
| Entries into dual training | 814 | 888 | +74 / +9.1% |
| People in training | 2,010 | 2,075 | +65 / +3.2% |
| Qualifications awarded | 701 | 671 | -30 / -4.3% |
The two training routes did not move in the same way. EFZ entries rose from 656 to 746, an increase of 13.7%. EBA entries fell from 158 to 142. The overall rise therefore came from the three-year EFZ route.
Why this rise matters
Hairdressing grew much faster than dual vocational training as a whole. Across all occupations in Switzerland, entries increased from 68,744 to 69,126, or 0.6%. For hairdressing, the increase was 9.1%.
That is encouraging, but it is not a return to where the profession was. Switzerland recorded 1,429 combined hairdressing entries in 2012. The 2025 figure of 888 is still 37.9% lower. Over the same period, the number of people in training fell from 3,845 to 2,075, a drop of 46.0%.
Qualifications also fell in 2025, from 701 to 671. This does not cancel out the increase in entries. The figures cover people at different points in a course that lasts several years. It does mean that one positive year is too early to call a lasting recovery.
Zürich was central to the change
In the Canton of Zürich, entries into dual hairdressing training rose from 185 to 221. That is an increase of 36, or 19.5%. Those 36 entries account for 48.6% of the national net rise of 74.
The tables do not tell us why Zürich grew so strongly. They show a count, not the reasons behind it. What they do show is an unusually clear change in the canton where we work.
What this means from our chairs
We are a barbershop, not an education authority. We are sharing these figures because the people being trained now are part of the future of our craft. They may one day work beside us, open their own shops or take the profession somewhere new.
Behind the chair, it becomes obvious that this work is not learned by memorising a sequence of steps. It takes repetition, judgement, conversation and the confidence to adapt to the person in front of you. A good haircut may look effortless when it is finished, but the skill behind it takes time to build.
In our two Zürich shops, no two days or clients are exactly alike. The learning never really stops, even after the qualification is in your hand.
“One good year doesn't undo twelve difficult ones. I am glad to see the figures moving in the right direction again. Our trade has a future only if its skills are taught, practised and passed on.”
Gilberto de la Fuente
The Good Barbers
We hope 2025 becomes the start of a trend. For now, the honest conclusion is simpler: after twelve years of decline, the number of people learning hairdressing in Switzerland has finally moved upwards.
We combined the FSO occupation codes for Hairdresser EFZ and Hairdresser EBA and used the dual-training category. An “entry” is linked to a training contract that took effect during the calendar year. A substantial contract change can create a new record, so this is not exactly the same as counting people starting their first-ever apprenticeship. Cantonal figures refer to the location of the training employer, not the learner's home address.
Our sources are the official FSO tables for entries into initial vocational education and training, people in training and qualifications awarded. Definitions are set out in the FSO methodology.
The FSO updated the education tables on 25 June 2026 with 2025 as the latest reference year. Earlier years may have been revised. The values behind our calculations are available in our downloadable CSV extract.
Gilberto de la Fuente
The Good Barbers, Zürich
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