Hair and makeup students will compete in two respective competitions held on August 25, and 26, to hone their skills and prepare them for future training and employment.

Newstead College teacher Sharon Turner said she arranged the competition to coincide with National Skills Week to bring attention to the work her students were doing and prepare them for employment or TAFE.

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She said real-world experience gained through the event had proven beneficial to students in the past, with the competition open to students seeking an apprenticeship or traineeship.

"My kids have actually gone quite well at TAFE competitions after they've done a competition here. It kind of prepares them a bit more for having another go at it," she said.

"I feel like it's a really good challenge for them before they go to TAFE."

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Ms Turner said students who studied courses connected to the competition stood to learn valuable skills that would translate into real employment opportunities.

"The retail field is big so a lot of them will get jobs at the end of the course from understanding retail a little bit better," she said.

"Not all of them will go on to the beauty industry, but at the moment the beauty industry is kind of climbing pretty well, the focus on eyebrows and eyelashes and nails is big as well.

"And of course there's always hairdressing apprenticeships going. I've got three girls at the moment who are looking at getting jobs at the end of the year from work placements that they've done, which is a bit exciting."

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Ms Turner said government funding for vocational education and training had seen a greater uptake in students taking on apprenticeships after experiencing a COVID-related drop earlier in the year.

"There's been really good money since COVID. There's actually been some very good money for businesses taking on apprenticeships," she said.

"A lot of people weren't wanting to put apprentices on because, you know, things were tight.

"I help the businesses find out that information because some of them don't realise how much money they can get from the government, and definitely with the COVID money around, they've been quite generous for the sector."

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Speaking at an event last month Skills, Training and Workforce Growth Minister Sarah Courtney said the government was encouraging people to enrol in VET to secure training and employment for the future.

"We know that vocational education and training can provide the stepping-stone for a rewarding life-long career, or set Tasmanians on a path to a new and exciting job," she said.

More than 65,000 Tasmanians enrol in VET courses annually, according to Ms Courtney.

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