EMPLOYERS in the beauty and hairdressing industries are struggling to find skilled staff, with many workers now opting to work for themselves at home.
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Karla McDiarmid, owner of Macquarie Medi Spa in both Bathurst and Orange said she is having huge issues "finding staff who want to work."
"Our biggest problem is the black economy; competing with home businesses that aren't legally a business and they take cash."
She said some are legitimate operators, but a lot aren't.
"Some are registered but many aren't and don't have insurances in case something goes wrong - every week we get calls to fix tattoos or fix lash extensions from dodgy operators."
She said an increase in home based operators has also seen shop fronts disappear, and for those who remain, they can't compete with the prices of home businesses, due to their higher overheads.
She said the issue is enticing more people from the cities to move to the Central West for a tree change.
"There are so many jobs out there right now," she said.
"In beauty - you can earn the same if not more no matter where you work but your overheads are lower to live here so its really a win-win for people to move out, especially those who have trades."
Macquarie Medi Spa has been turning away customers every day for five months because they can't get enough staff.
Ms McDiarmid said it was even harder to find experienced staff in Orange.
"Since COVID it's never been busier.... people can't go on holidays and people love their holidays, so they are spending money on themselves instead," Ms McDiarmid said.
The spa needs a bigger premises, but she knows she wouldn't be able to staff it.
"You train an apprentice and they are the young girls that are the first to go set up home makeup or lash bars, so it's a tricky one," she said.
Richard Lang, owner of Price Attack, has also struggled to fill positions for qualified hairdressers.
"It's definitely a problem," he said.
Like Ms McDiarmid, Mr Lang said it's a combination of a skill shortage and people choosing to work from home.
"It's nearly impossible to get a qualified hairdresser. We advertise for staff, go through agencies, and a lot of the time we won't even get one response," he said.
"A lot of people are choosing to work from home. If you work from home there's no overheads, no EFTPOS machines, it's all cash and goes straight into their pockets. It's gotten worse since COVID."
