AN AWARD-WINNING spa in Salisbury has spoken out about the challenges in recruiting staff.

Vita Skin Spa, which also has a site in Winchester, won the employer of the year accolade this week at the British Hair and Beauty Awards.

Despite being recognised as one of the best employers in the South West, spa owner Nikki Spicer has revealed how recruitment has been hit and says the business has been struggling to find therapists to join its team.

She said: “Since opening up the spa again after lockdowns, recruitment has been so much harder than I’ve ever known it in the 15 years since I’ve been an employer.

"I thought coming out of lockdown as so many salons had closed or let people go, that it would be easier, but speaking to other owners across the UK, everyone is finding the same problem.”

Alongside the Employer of the Year award, it also scooped four other awards.

Nikki added: “I think Covid has caused a lot of therapists to leave the industry, which is so sad. Spas were closed for a total of 10 months across the pandemic and were one of the last to open after the first lockdown.

"With therapists having so much time on furlough and many across the industry being made redundant, it’s left a shortage of good therapists.

"We currently need three more beauty therapists at Vita and have been trying to recruit them since April. Our jobs usually get snapped up so quickly.”

Nikki also says its not just beauty therapists they’ve struggled to find this year.

“We’ve also found it impossible to find a cleaner for the first time ever. Several years ago when we advertised for a spa cleaner, we had over 50 applicants in a matter of days. Last month when we started advertising, we barely had any applicants and those that did apply didn’t reply when asked to come for an interview,” she said.

Nikki also says there is high demand for spa services as a result of Covid with more people taking time to focus on their wellbeing.

“Spas are so busy and with the demand at an all time high, we really need our industries recruitment to be booming. One thing that Covid has done is made people focus on their wellness and to take more time out to relax. We have seen a big change in people spending longer at our spas, as they now recognise that the slower pace of life suits them and they can find this at the spa," she explains.

“We are just one industry amongst so many others struggling with this recruitment crises and we are hoping that by next year, with furlough a distant memory, that it will start to recover.”

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