OSCA 399433

Dressmaker or Tailor

Overview

  • Employed persons

    5,200

  • Employment status

    42.1% Full time

    58.0% Part time

  • Median age

    50 years

  • Employment by sex

    84.8% Female

    15.2% Male

    Highly female dominated

  • Indigenous employment share

    1.0%

  • Main employing industry

    Manufacturing

Indicator Dressmaker or Tailor Total employment
Employed persons 5,200 12,049,400
Median age 50 years 40 years
Full-time share 42.1% 64.2%
Part-time share 58.0% 35.8%
Female employment share 84.8% 48.5%
Male employment share 15.2% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Highly female dominated Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 1.0% 2.2%
Main employing industry Manufacturing Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

Dressmaker or Tailors make, alter and repair tailored garments, formal wear, couturier clothing and special occasion wear such as suits, dresses, coats, head wear, evening wear and bridal wear.

What the occupation involves

  • Consults with clients to determine design preferences and fabric choices for customised garments
  • Measures clients to determine their body measurements
  • Sews garments together using sewing machines, sergers and hand stitching techniques
  • Fits garments on clients and makes necessary alterations for an accurate fit
  • Adds finishing touches to garments such as buttons, zippers and decorative elements
  • Repairs or performs alterations on existing garments, such as resizing, replacing buttons, mending tears and fixing seams to meet client needs

Common occupation titles

No alternative occupation titles are listed for this occupation.

Specialisations

  • Costume Maker
  • Milliner

Note: Specialisations are examples of roles in within this occupation and are not separate OSCA occupations.

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 3
equivalent to a mid-level Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification (Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least 2 years’ on-the-job training).

Note: While skill levels are described using formal education levels, some people use a combination of informal learning, on-the-job training and personal experience to achieve an equivalent level.

Licensing or registration requirements

No licensing or registration requirements are listed for this occupation.

OSCA structure

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    Dressmaker or Tailor Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Manufacturing 39.2% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Other Services 23.9% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Retail Trade 11.6% Construction 8.9%
    Arts and Recreation Services 4.3% Education and Training 8.8%
    Accommodation and Food Services 3.8% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Information Media and Telecommunications 2.5% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Construction 1.1% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 1.1% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Wholesale Trade 1.0% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Education and Training 0.9% Financial and Insurance Services 3.7%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    States and territories

    Employment distribution by states and territories, 2021

    • New South Wales

      29.6%

    • Victoria

      29.3%

    • Queensland

      18.0%

    • South Australia

      7.0%

    • Tasmania

      2.2%

    • Northern Territory

      0.9%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      1.5%

    Dressmaker or Tailor Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 1,500 29.6% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 1,500 29.3% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 940 18.0% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 360 7.0% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 590 11.3% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 120 2.2% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 50 0.9% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 80 1.5% 248,600 2.1%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    Age and sex

    Employment distibution by age group and sex, 2021

    Dressmaker or Tailor

    Total employment

    Age group Dressmaker or Tailor Total employment
    15–24 years 9.2% 14.3%
    25–34 years 14.5% 22.7%
    35–44 years 14.4% 22.3%
    45–54 years 23.7% 20.4%
    55–64 years 27.7% 15.3%
    65–74 years 9.1% 4.3%
    75 years and over 1.4% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex Dressmaker or Tailor Total employment
    Female 84.8% 48.5%
    Male 15.2% 51.5%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    On this page

      OSCA occupation profiles data

      This file contains data available from the OSCA Occupation Profile page.

      Use of this data must include the relevant attribution text provided.

      OSCA Occupation data - 2021 Census.xlsx

      xlsx 1236447

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      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA)

      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) is the skill-based classification used to categorise occupations across the Australian labour market. OSCA is used to define occupations across all official occupational statistics. OSCA replaces the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

      Each job is classified to one, and only one, group of jobs at each level of the classification with no overlaps. This prevents the accidental double-counting of roles within the Australian labour market. For more information about OSCA, visit the What is OSCA information page, or the ABS website.

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