A spike in job vacancies in the south-west has some employers struggling to fill key roles.
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Unisex Cuts owner Sue Cassidy has been forced to advertise on platforms other than social media for a hairdresser for the first time in a number of years.
Ms Cassidy said she was aware of a handful of Warrnambool hairdressing salons which were facing the same issue.
"That's unheard of," she said.
Ms Cassidy said she was not sure what was behind the trend.
"It's a real problem across the industry," she said.
"I'm not sure if it is because people are worried about being too close to others (due to COVID-19) or if more people are just seeking a change."
Ms Cassidy said she was actively seeking hairdressers and beauty therapists for the business.
The number of job vacancy ads in Saturday's edition of The Standard rose from 47 in the first two weeks of February 2020 to 99 in the same period in 2021.
A number of these ads were seeking to fill multiple positions.
Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism general manager Liz Price said filling vacancies in the tourism industry had been an issue for some years.
She said the coronavirus pandemic had made it tougher than ever.
"This has been challenging in the visitor economy for a significant number of years but has been further exacerbated by COVID where we have seen the sector heavily impacted," Ms Price said.
She said some staff had been retained in other sectors, some had left looking for security and career progression, while there were not international workers available to fill roles.
"In some parts of the region we have businesses that have had to reduce their operating/opening hours to accommodate working within current staffing limitations," Ms Price said.
Western District Labour Hire recruitment manager Marcia Thomas said there were plenty of construction jobs available in the region.
She encouraged people with qualifications to register their interest, with plenty of employers keen to fill roles immediately.
WDEA Works Warrnambool business development officer Angela Hewitt said there had been a shift in the workforce in the south-west in the past six months.
"Employers, employees and consumers alike have all been forced to think about what they value and this has changed how people work," Ms Hewitt said.
"For employees, we've noticed that some people are reconsidering casual roles in favour of permanent positions for stability."
She said there were still people seeking employment, but they may not have the skills, qualifications or experience employers need to 'hit the ground running'
"Many employers have had to think about upskilling and training new employees to meet their labour requirements," she said.
"This also means that consumer and customers need to update their expectations and be patient with trainee staff who are learning new skills.
"We've been working with local businesses to look at innovative ways for them to fulfil roles, this may include additional training or splitting a 'traditional' full-time role into two or three part-time roles."
Ms Hewitt said it was pleasing to see most employers were more than willing to work with people who needed to be trained in a role. "Employers right now more than ever are seeking an attitude of wanting to work, above all else," she said.
Member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur said she was very concerned about the growing number of vacancies in the south-west.
"It's a concern I hear daily - businesses having trouble getting employees - particularly in hospitality which relied heavily on overseas workers on working holiday visas," Mrs McArthur said.
"These job vacancy rates are a clear indication that businesses just want to get back to doing business. They just need a state government which can guarantee businesses will remain open and can safely run a hotel quarantine program which lets workers back into our state."
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